Local families and childcare advocates are urging Shoalhaven City Council to maintain its essential Family Day Care Service, as Councillors prepare to vote on the service's future tonight.
The council-operated Family Day Care Service has long provided high-quality, affordable childcare for working families across the Shoalhaven region, says the United Services Union (USU) which represents workers at the service.
With childcare costs representing one of the largest expenses for regional families, the service has become a crucial support system for the community.
Previous assessments have demonstrated that maintaining the service in-house is more economically viable than outsourcing.
Staff members have previously presented comprehensive business cases supporting the retention of council management, highlighting both financial and community benefits.
The timing of this proposed change is particularly concerning, as the federal government is currently implementing legislation to provide greater certainty in the childcare sector including a significant boost in pay funded by federal funds.
Stuart Geddes from the USU believes privatising the service could lead to increased costs for families and reduced accessibility, particularly affecting working parents in the region.
"Privatising a service like this is short-sighted and does not consider the long-term capacity of the business and potential for growth in a growing industry," said Mr Geddes.
"Hundreds of local families are anxiously waiting on the outcome of tonight's Shoalhaven City Council meeting where they'll decide whether or not to sell off the local childcare service.
"Outsourcing the service to a private provider won't only drive up costs to local mums and dads, but will also be a false economy.
"We went through this process seven years ago and it turned out it's cheaper to keep the service council run.
"We urge Councillors to keep the service in public hands, our kids are too important to gamble with new management only motivated by profit."
