The Australian childcare sector is under intense scrutiny right now. Between devastating allegations, rising costs, and mounting waitlists, there’s no shortage of problems.
.accordion {
width: 100%;
overflow: hidden;
margin-top: 24px;
}
.blog-list-para {
display: none;
}
.accordion-item-bottom {
margin-bottom: 32px;
}
.accordion-item input {
display: none;
}
._card-follow--brandshape.mb-2.pt-4{
padding: 0 8px 0 0 !important;
margin: 0 !important;
height: auto;
}
.v-btn.primary--text:hover:before{
background-color: initial !important;
}
.v-btn.primary--text:hover{color: #2828D0 !important;}
#description {
margin-top: 104px;
}
.container.grid-list-xl .v-responsive {
height: 168px;
border-radius: 6px;
}
.img-parallax {
height: 430px !important;
}
.accordion-label {
display: flex;
justify-content: space-between;
align-items: center;
border-radius: 10px;
opacity: 0.8;
background: #f5f2fac4;
padding: 26.14px 20px;
font-weight: bold;
cursor: pointer;
/* transition: background 0.3s; */
}
.accordion-label:hover {
opacity: .7;
}
.accordion-label h4 {
margin: 0;
color: #010815;
font-size: 24px;
font-style: normal;
font-weight: 500;
}
.accordion-icon {
transition: transform 0.3s ease;
display: flex;
align-items: center;
}
input:checked+.accordion-label .accordion-icon {
transform: rotate(180deg);
}
.accordion-content {
max-height: 0;
overflow: hidden;
padding: 0 20px;
background: #fff;
transition: max-height 0.4s ease, padding 0.4s ease;
}
input:checked+.accordion-label+.accordion-content {
max-height: 500px;
padding: 15px 20px;
background: #f5f2fac4;
margin-top: -7px;
}
.quick-summary {
border-radius: 10px;
background: #FDE7E5;
padding: 30px;
}
.h3-title {
color: #010815;
padding-bottom: 12px;
opacity: .8;
font-size: 24px;
line-height: normal;
}
.h2-title {
color: #343944;
padding: 42px 0 16px 0;
font-size: 38px;
font-weight: 700;
line-height: 48px;
letter-spacing: .2px;
}
#description p {
color: rgba(0,0,0,.87);
text-align: justify;
font-size: 20px;
line-height: 30px;
}
._clubhouse-article--banner .img-parallax {
background-position: 0 0 !important;
border-radius: 10px;
}
.key-take {
padding: 40px 20px;
background: #F6F6FF;
margin-top: 42px;
}
.toc {
padding: 28px 20px 20px 20px;
border-radius: 10px;
background: #F5F2FA;
margin-top: 42px;
}
.toc-toggle,.smooth-parallax:nth-child(6),.smooth-parallax:nth-child(7),.smooth-parallax:nth-child(8),.smooth-parallax:nth-child(9),.smooth-parallax:nth-child(10),.smooth-parallax:nth-child(11),.smooth-parallax:nth-child(12),.smooth-parallax:nth-child(13),.smooth-parallax:nth-child(14){
display: none;
}
.toc-label {
display: flex;
align-items: center;
justify-content: space-between;
cursor: pointer;
padding: 0;
opacity: 1;
}
.toc-label .dropdown-icon {
transition: transform 0.3s ease;
}
.toc-toggle:checked+.toc-label .dropdown-icon {
transform: rotate(180deg);
}
.toc-content {
padding-left: 25px !important;
list-style-type: disc;
display: none;
border-top: 1px solid rgb(127, 133, 141);
padding-top: 12px;
margin-top: 8px !important;
margin-bottom: 0 !important;
}
.toc-toggle:checked~.toc-content {
display: block;
}
#description a {
font-size: 20px;
/* text-decoration: none; */
}
.pb-0 {
padding-bottom: 0;
}
.mb-0 {
margin-bottom: 0;
}
.toc-content p {
margin-bottom: 12px;
}
.pt-24px {
padding-top: 24px;
}
.text-center{
text-align: center !important;
}
.m-10px{margin: 10px 0;}
._clubhouse-article--banner-section h1 {
font-size: 56px;
font-weight: 700;
line-height: 80px;
}
.mt-8{
margin-top: 30px;
}
@media screen and (max-width: 767px) {
._clubhouse-article--banner-section h1 {
font-size: 48px;
font-weight: 700;
line-height: 64px;
margin: 0 !important;
}
#description {
margin-top: 0;
}
.quick-summary {
margin-top: 40px;
}
#description table p {
font-size: 12px;
line-height: 18px;
}
#description p {
font-size: 18px;
line-height: 27px;
}
._clubhouse-article--sticky,
.py-3.border--top.border--bottom.border--grey_3 {
display: none !important;
}
.mt-5.border--top.border--grey_3.py-3 {
margin-top: 0 !important;
border: none;
}
.v-card {
max-width: initial !important;
}
.h2-title {
padding: 40px 0 8px 0;
font-size: 34px;
line-height: 44px;
}
.accordion {
margin-top: 16px;
}
}
The Australian childcare sector is under intense scrutiny right now. Between devastating allegations, rising costs, and mounting waitlists, there’s no shortage of problems.
But the real issue isn’t cost or safety - it’s structural. Systemic.
Our current childcare model was designed in the mid-90s, when funding for community- based care was cut in favour of formal, centre-based services. It was built to support working parents in 1990s-era workplaces; Monday to Friday, 8am to 6pm, in the office.
The system is seriously outdated and in urgent need of reform.
As a working mum who struggled to find a care model that actually worked for our family, I know firsthand how rigid the system can feel - even when you're doing everything “right”.
Both family life and working life have changed dramatically over the past 30+ years. Women’s workforce participation has leapt to record levels (up more than 10 percentage points since the early 2000s) while the division of labour at home hasn’t shifted at all. Add rising living costs, rising everything, and a constant undercurrent of global uncertainty — and it’s no wonder families are feeling overwhelmed and under-supported by a system designed for another time.
Post-pandemic, the nature of work has changed. Remote roles, part-time ‘gig’ work, and portfolio careers are more common than ever - yet our care systems still operate as if every parent works 9 to 5 in a fixed location. Parents today are navigating busy schedules and shifting rosters. They need flexible care that fits their reality.
But families don’t just need flexibility. They need trusted care that feels personal, and genuinely invested in their child’s wellbeing.
The vast majority of childcare workers are loving, hard-working people doing their best within this overstretched system. This isn’t about blaming the people holding it all together - it’s about recognising that the system isn’t holding up its end.
We need to do better for Australian families, for older caregivers who want to contribute, and for the children - and elders - who benefit most from consistent, compassionate care.
Because while families are burning out, thousands of older women - retired teachers, nurses, mothers - are locked out of the workforce.
These women are a wealth of knowledge and skill. They’re also deeply motivated, financially undervalued, and profoundly needed. Not just in childcare, but in aged care too, where demand is accelerating fast.
That’s why we built NannyGranny: to reconnect generations, restore practical support for families, and give experienced caregivers renewed purpose and fair income.
It’s not a replacement for centres - it’s a complement. A more human, flexible way to meet the evolving care-needs of modern families.
If we want to support Australian families, we need to look within our local communities. That means rethinking outdated systems, backing more flexible models of care, and reconnecting the people - and generations - who’ve always made it work.
It’s time to move beyond one-size-fits-all.
That’s why we support the call for a Royal Commission into Childcare - and specifically, a reform of the Child Care Subsidy to include home-based, community-driven, and intergenerational care, so families have access to trusted, responsive care that meets them where they are, not where the system expects them to be.
Because when we design systems that support both older women and younger families, everyone benefits.
Let’s build something more flexible.
More inclusive.
More human.
Let’s rebuild the village we were never meant to live without.
#Childcare