Why are so many affordable North Shore childcare centres shutting down?

A long-standing Gladesville childcare centre is at risk of shutting its doors, as Hunter’s Hill Council moves to sell the land with no clear plan for the centre’s relocation. 

With similar proposed closures in Chatswood and Crows Nest, the news follows a broader trend of affordable childcare options shrinking on the North Shore. 

What happened: The Gladesville Occasional Childcare Centre (GOCCC) is a community-based non-profit that has been running in Gladesville since 1983. In that time they haven’t had to pay rent for the site, which is owned by Hunter’s Hill Council.

• Non-profit childcare centres — such as Kelly’s Place in Crows Nest — typically have this sort of arrangement with their local council. 

A grassroots structure: As a non-profit community centre, the GOCCC is able to provide childcare to local families at a more affordable price. Its governing body is a committee of parents whose children attend. The centre takes care of children from six months to five years old. 

Big plans: In 2025, the council voted to reclassify the land from community to operational land. 

• Operational land is land owned by the council without special restrictions. It means the council can manage the land in the same way a member of the public might deal with private freehold land.

Michelle King, the president of the centre’s parent’s committee, claims she was assured when the land was reclassified there were no plans to sell. 

• “[I said] the reason you're doing this is because you want to sell it,” she told the Lorikeet. “They'd never agree with that, they’d say it's just reclassification”. 

During a Hunter's Hill council meeting in May, plans were announced to sell the land to the City of Ryde.

Neither here nor there: The centre sits between the borders of the City of Ryde and Hunters Hill Council. King claims the parents committee was told during a meeting with the two councils that the City of Ryde had no capacity to find a new location for the centre.

The centre’s 12 month lease will expire in December. 

The Lorikeet asked Hunter’s Hill Council if there was any assurance the lease agreement with Gladesville Occasional Childcare Centre would be continued under new ownership. 

In a statement, a spokesperson said “further discussion with the Gladesville Occasional Childcare Centre will be undertaken once we receive community feedback”.

Why is this happening? 

The Parenthood is a national advocacy group representing parents and carers. The group's CEO, Georgie Dent, told the Lorikeet that while specific circumstances may differ, these closures “are not occurring in a vacuum”. 

“What we are seeing across NSW and Australia is a sector under significant pressure”, she said, specifying “rising operating costs, workforce shortages” and “occupancy challenges”.

“Families should not have to rely on whether a service is commercially viable for their child to access high-quality early learning close to home. Early education is essential infrastructure and governments need to ensure every community has access”.

Hunter’s Hill Council’s decision to sell the land will go on public exhibition on May 23. You can have your say via the council website.

Thumbnail: Gladesville Occasional Childcare Centre, Hunter’s Hill Council