Families around the country are feeling the pressure when it comes to getting their kids into child care, but none so much as those in regional Western Australia.
A recent report into the availability of child care around Australia has found that WA has the lowest rates of accessibility of all states and territories.
The report has landed at a pivotal time. In the lead-up to the federal election, the WA Council of Social Service (WACOSS) has called for all parties to prioritise universal childcare access.
"It's clear that we can't simply leave this problem to the for-profit childcare sector any longer," said Louise Giolitto, CEO of WACOSS.
There are approximately 3.6 West Australian children vying for each place in child care, compared to the national average of 2.6.
This may not sound too shocking, but those figures only go up when focusing on regional areas, where there are 7 children vying for each childcare place in the Gascoyne region.
In the Pilbara town of Tom Price the situation is even worse with 9 kids per every spot.
In the Goldfields, there is an average number 5.8 kids needing care per available place — and this figure is one of the lowest of the regions.
Goldfields mum says waitlists are 'insane'
Kalgoorlie mother Amy Southall is just one of many parents who is all too familiar with the lengthy battle for a spot in regional child care.
She says it took her and her partner seven months to get their son Harry into a centre.
"Admittedly, after speaking to other mums in town, seven months is actually a pretty good wait time, which is really sad," Ms Southall said.
She described the process of getting Harry into care as "really stressful", as providers were not even able to tell her when a place would likely become available.
"It's the whole 'your spot isn't guaranteed; we don't know if we'll be able to give you a spot, let alone when' … it's the unknown factor that makes it so hard to plan," she said.
Ms Southall said she and her partner were now expecting their second child, and had already got him on the waitlist for child care, in the hope that a spot might become available by the time he needs it.
Childcare providers unable to meet demand
Karen Simpson, the owner of a childcare facility in Kalgoorlie-Boulder, said her waiting list had 305 families on it, despite her centre being licensed for only 12 places a day.
"Generally, the only time that places become available is at the end of each year so if you miss that place … the chances of getting one are so slim."
Ms Simpson said she believed the biggest factor contributing to the lack of accessible childcare was the chronic shortage of staff in the area.
She believes wage reform will be the only way to keep desperately needed, qualified workers in childcare roles.
"It's incredibly hard … even when somebody might move to town with the qualifications, they generally start off with us and then … tend to find themselves going into higher-paid mining positions," she said.
Staffing pressures felt across state
Issues surrounding staffing have been echoed throughout regional WA.
Maria Mighall is the director of Little Toddies Childcare Centre in the South West, and she agreed that the biggest challenge facing her facility was lack of staff.
Ms Mighall said childcare educators were deserving of higher wages, and that it was not uncommon for those in the industry to regularly put in extra hours of unpaid work.
"They call us 'childcare workers', which is not even a professional title," she said.
