Oversupply of childcare

DEVELOPERS of new childcare centres should have to prove there is local need before getting approval as a glut of places is driving down quality and pushing up fees in southeast Queensland.

Pockets of the Gold Coast are saturated with childcare centres, leading to calls from residents and industry bodies for better planning rules.

Australian Childcare Alliance Queensland general manager Brent Stokes said the problem was widespread.

“We have oversupply in some parts of ... the Gold Coast ... and it actually drives up prices and forces quality down as services struggle to fill vacancies,” he said.

“There are currently 117,000 licensed places in Queensland with an average occupancy of 76.3 per cent.”