How To Find A Childcare Centre – Part 3

Availability and Waiting Lists… Childcare availability can be an issue and in order to get into a specific centre that you had your heart set on requires early planning. We’ve heard of centres that have very long waiting lists of up to 3 years, so leaving your search to the last minute and expecting that a spot will be made available for you, will leave you frustrated and disappointed. We highly recommend registering your details with your preferred childcare centre as early as possible.

Placing your child on multiple waiting lists can become an expensive exercise, as some services charge an administration fee to do this, so be sure to keep this in mind. Also, ask if the fee is refundable if you enrol your child at that centre.

There are a few online resources where you can check for childcare vacancies, emptyspot.com.au being one of them. You can easily see which centre has a permanent or a casual spot available and compare the centres and their services.

If you can’t find a permanent spot at a centre of your choice, don’t despair, some centres offer casual childcare when one of their existing families is away or their child is not going attend on a particular day.