“That ICPA Qld lobbies Local Government, Early Childhood Education and Care (ECEC), and all relevant stakeholders, for the establishment and ongoing provision of services, to ensure rural and remote towns who have a need, can access local registered Early Childhood Care Services for families to utilise.”
Augathella is a small town in Southwest Queensland with a population of approximately 300. Since early 2024, Augathella has not had access to any type of Early Childhood Education for children younger than Kindy age. The closest available early childhood service is in Charleville (88km away) and they are at capacity with a lengthy waitlist.
As at April 2026, there are a minimum of 14 families in town and surrounding areas with approximately 16 pre-kindy aged children who have no access to early childhood services and who would utilise a facility if it was available. It means that these children are missing out on the benefits of early childhood education and that parents are unable to work in any capacity or must constantly seek alternative options for their children. This includes ad hoc arrangements with unqualified community members, friends or extended family. This is extremely limiting for working parents and is both stressful and disruptive. It is substantially more expensive without a childcare subsidy but is the only option for most working families who do not have family support nearby.
Projected figures indicate that this will be an ongoing issue with many young residing and working in the area. The lack of a local service impacts many workers, including the local hospital, school, primary producers and other businesses within town.
Where families have no options, this means the town is potentially losing residents and professionals. Rural and remote towns with this identified need require a registered early childhood education and care service to ensure our youngest members of the community are supported and allow parents or primary caregivers the opportunity to access employment.
We require funding both for capital and ongoing operational costs. Augathella currently has no stand-alone facility that would meet national standards. There are, however, some potential sites for a facility to run and they would either need to be leased or purchased and upgrades to meet suitability and standards would need to be made.
In our community we value the best start for our children. We want them to access great care and education through a regular registered local service that is accessible for our families.
Case Study
There is a highly respected teacher and relief acting principal from the local state school who is currently on maternity leave. She will be forced to make a decision next year if she to return to work full time or part time or not at all. She is hoping to return full time as is passionate about her profession however this may not be possible due to lack of services or close family availability. Without a service, Augathella will lose a qualified and experienced professional with a passion for her profession and desire to stay in the area, something that is highly valued in rural and remote areas.
Other families too, are having to reduce working hours to manage the care of their children. Whilst many parents cannot undertake more hours of paid work due to this issue there are also those who would like to advance their careers by studying either part or full time which is impossible on a day to day basis if no services are available.
