Children and babies ‘at risk’ as childcare centres scramble for staff, insiders say

Annie Mok a leadership support worker at the Windsor Community Children’s Centre in Melbourne. She says the more staff leave the sector, the worse conditions become for those who stay. Photograph: Christopher Hopkins/Guardian Australia

Australia is facing a crisis at its childcare centres with severe staffing shortages putting the safety of children and babies at risk, say early childhood educators.

Centres across the country are struggling to fill thousands of available positions as educators leave due to post-pandemic burnout and the sector’s notoriously low pay.