That ICPA (Aust) advocates to the Minister for Early Childhood Education and the Minister for Regional Development, Local Government and Territories to investigate and develop a sustainable, fit-for-purpose funding model for flexible early childhood education and care services in rural, regional and remote Australia, including in-home and mobile service models such as the Remote and Isolated Children’s Exercise (RICE), to address existing service gaps and reduce the impact of childcare deserts.
Families in rural and remote South Australia face significant barriers accessing early childhood education and care (ECEC), including vast distances, limited-service availability, workforce shortages, and a lack of informal support networks.
Flexible, place-based services such as the RICE Outback Childcare program play a critical role in supporting geographically isolated families through short-term, in-home care tailored to the operational and seasonal realities of remote living. However, these service models sit largely outside traditional Child Care Subsidy (CCS) structures, resulting in families bearing the full cost of care and creating significant affordability barriers.
Federal investment into ECEC, including the Community Child Care Fund (CCCF) and recent reforms such as the 3 Day Guarantee under CCS, are acknowledged and welcomed. However, these initiatives do not adequately address the unique challenges faced by dispersed rural and remote populations, where centre-based childcare models are often not viable.
The main issue appears to be that CCS only applies to approved childcare services operating under one of four recognised service types:
• Centre Based Day Care
• Family Day Care
• Outside School Hours Care
• In Home Care (IHC)
For a service to access CCS, it must be formally approved under Family Assistance Law and primarily provide recognised childcare.
RICE Outback Childcare is not CCS-applicable because it does not fit within the Australian Government’s approved Child Care Subsidy service models and regulatory requirements.
Outback Childcare is more of a flexible outreach/in-home support model designed specifically for our SA geographically isolated families. We must remember that it does not operate like a conventional childcare centre or regular Family Day Care scheme.
CCS was designed for mainstream childcare systems. Outback Childcare was designed for remote families living in places where mainstream systems simply do not work.
As a result, many children in geographically isolated communities continue to fall between funding systems that are not designed to accommodate flexible, non-centre-based service delivery.
This motion calls on the Australian Government to investigate practical and sustainable funding solutions, including alternative subsidy arrangements to support flexible ECEC services in rural and remote Australia.
Without targeted reform, rural and remote children will remain disadvantaged in accessing early childhood education.
