RDA Murraylands and Riverland (RDAMR) are collaborating with a range of stakeholders to support the planning of future childcare services across the Murraylands and Riverland.

The data collected through this process will inform evidence-based resources and documentation, which will be made available to you. This information will provide real-world insights to strengthen your applications for the Building, Expanding, and Establishing Flexible Childcare Services (BEEF) program.

The BEEF program is a key initiative of Australia’s Building Early Education Fund, a $1 billion Federal Government investment aimed at at expanding existing early learning services or creating new ones if the need is significant, particularly in underserved regional and remote areas. The program seeks to:

- Increase access to affordable childcare
- Support families returning to the workforce
- Strengthen the early childhood education workforce

All individual responses will be kept confidential; your individual responses and personal data will not be shared with any third parties outside RDA Murraylands and Riverland. De-identified, aggregated data will be packaged and presented to local, State and Federal Governments and other relevant stakeholders to inform their service planning activities.

Any questions or queries can be directed to Lorena Lyon, Director Workforce Development at RDAMR at llyon@rdamr.com.au or 8580 8500.
Section 1. Service Information

Question Title

* 1. Location of Centre (Town your centre is physically located in)

Question Title

* 2. What type of service do you provide? (Select all that apply)

Question Title

* 3. Which towns/localities does your centre service?

Question Title

* 4. What is longest distance any of your families drive to access your quality service?

Question Title

* 5. What is your service’s licensed/approved capacity (number of places)?

Question Title

* 6. What is your current average utilisation rate (% of places filled)?

Section 2. Availability & Access

Question Title

* 7. Do you currently have a waitlist?

  No wait time Under 3 months 3 - 12 months 12+ months
0 - 2 years
2 - 3 years
3 - 4 years
School aged - 5+ (OSHC)

Question Title

* 8. Approximately how many children are on your waitlist?

  0-5 5-10 10-15 15-20 20+
0-2 years
2-3 years
2-4 years
School aged 5+ (OSHC)

Question Title

* 9. What are the main reasons families report difficulty accessing your service? (Select all that apply)

Section 3. Workforce & Capacity

Question Title

* 10. How many staff do you currently employ?

Question Title

* 11. Are staffing shortages in numbers of staff limiting your ability to meet current demand?

Question Title

* 12. Are staffing shortages in qualifications of staff limiting your ability to meet demand?

Question Title

* 13. Which qualifications do you have limited ability to employ to meet that demand?

Question Title

* 14. How many extra staff do you need to meet your current requirements?

Question Title

* 15. What levels of Qualified Staff do you currently employ?

  0 - I need to employ 1-5 5-10 10+
Certificate III Early Childhood Education and Care (CHC30121)
Diploma of Early Childhood Education and Care (CHC50121)
Bachelor’s Degree in Early Childhood Education or Teaching

Question Title

* 16. Thinking of the staff you need to employ, how soon will you need to employ them?

  1-3 months 3-6 months 6 - 12 months 12+ months
Certificate III in Early Childhood Education and Care
Diploma of Early Childhood Education and Care
Bachelor’s Degree in Early Childhood Education or Teaching

Question Title

* 17. How many of each of these staff are you going to employ?

  0 1-5 5-10 10+
Certificate III in Early Childhood Education and Care
Diploma of Early Childhood Education and Care
Bachelor’s Degree in Early Childhood Education or Teaching

Question Title

* 18. Thinking of the upcoming Flying Start Initiative (Preschool for 3-year-olds) approximately how many extra staff will you need to employ to meet this future demand?

  0-5 5-10 10+
Casual
Part- Time
Full-Time

Question Title

* 19. Which workforce challenges do you face? (Select all that apply)

Question Title

* 20. Would a shared Workforce Pilot across the region assist you in being able to fill last minute staffing shortages?

Question Title

* 21. Would you be willing to allow your current part-time/casual staff take part in the shared workforce pilot (provided it did not affect their ability to work their current hours with you)

Question Title

* 22. What support would make shared rosters or multi-site work more viable?

Question Title

* 23. Thinking of your current staff, what types of professional development would you like to access (Select all that apply)

Section 4. Community Needs & Gaps

Question Title

* 24. In your view, what are the biggest challenges or gaps in child care/early learning services in your community?

Question Title

* 25. Which groups in your community are most affected by limited access? (Select all that apply)

Section 5. Future Demand

Question Title

* 26. Have you seen an increase in demand over the past 3 years

Question Title

* 27. Do you expect the demand to increase in the next 3-5 years

Question Title

* 28. If yes, what factors are driving future demand? (Select all that apply)

Section 6. Solutions & Opportunities

Question Title

* 29. What types of additional services would most benefit your community? (Select all that apply)

Question Title

* 30. What innovative or place-based models do you think could work in your community?

Question Title

* 31. What support would help your service expand or meet local demand? (Select all that apply)

Section 7. Final Input

Question Title

* 32. What is the single biggest barrier to families accessing early childhood education and care in your locality?

Question Title

* 33. Any additional comments or suggestions for improving early childhood education and care in your region?

Thank you for completing this survey.
RDA Murraylands and Riverland will be in contact with you towards Mid 2026 with the evidence-based resources and documentation to support your applications for the Building, Expanding, and Establishing Flexible Childcare Services (BEEF) program.

T