What is The Future Care Project?
The pain experienced by families unable to access childcare is well documented. The career sacrifices, the gender pay gap driven by mothers taking on the primary caregiving role, these are not new stories. But for many whose children are no longer in need of care, the urgency of the issue fades into the background.
It wasn't until we reframed the conversation, highlighting that a shortage of childcare is not just a family crisis but an economic one, that people truly began to listen.
Waitlists stretching beyond two years are not uncommon. The impact on workforce participation, business continuity, and regional growth is profound. This project was born out of a need to shift the narrative, from a personal burden to a community-wide barrier to prosperity.
Despite having a capable, willing workforce, the lack of early childhood education and care access holds our regions back. This is not just about supporting families, it’s about unlocking economic potential and protecting the future of regional Australia.
For the past 18 months, we’ve worked to understand and address the barriers within the ECEC system, advocating for real, achievable solutions. Every child deserves the chance to thrive, no matter where they live. And no community should be held back by a lack of access to foundational care and learning.
Through our work in the Goondiwindi Region and beyond, we're committed to a future where every child has equal access to quality early learning, strengthening families, supporting local businesses, and enriching the very fabric of regional life. But our vision doesn't end here. Throughout this journey, we've encountered countless communities facing the same barriers, and each starting there effort for change from scratch. It's clear we need a central place to unite our efforts, share solutions, and amplify our collective impact, ensuring that anyone, anywhere, can build upon our work to overcome these shared challenges.
Together, we can make lasting change a reality. The question is, will you join us?
Every family, no matter their postcode, should have ready access to quality, inclusive, and sustainable childcare.
It’s not a luxury. It’s a right.
To achieve this vision, the Future Care Project is working to:
Strengthen existing care models, including in-home care, in-venue family day care, and innovative microbusiness models – to improve viability and offer flexible care arrangements that meet the needs of individual families.
Provide a central platform to share real stories from other successful communities highlighting how they addressed childcare challenges through a mix of grants, social enterprise, charity donations, and government partnerships - to inspire and inform others ready to take action.
Build local training and employment pathways into the early childhood education and care sector, starting at the secondary school level and extending through supported vocational training.
Support not-for-profit and community-run centres with tailored operational, business, and workforce assistance to improve sustainability and reduce staff burnout.
Partner with local councils, chambers of commerce, and major employers to co-design and co-invest in care solutions that reflect the unique needs of their region.
Advocate for national and state-level policy change, including formal recognition of the regional childcare crisis and the introduction of flexible, fit-for-purpose funding models for rural and remote communities.
Promote care as critical economic infrastructure, and push for tax and policy reforms that better support working families, especially women.
Embed culturally safe, community-led care models, ensuring representation and leadership from Aboriginal, Torres Strait Islander, and culturally and linguistically diverse communities.
Support children with diverse high-needs backgrounds, and help ECEC providers access the tools, partnerships, and funding they need to deliver inclusive, specialised care.
Develop a scalable and replicable framework that can guide other regional communities in addressing similar childcare challenges.