Now Is Our Chance to Put Children Before Profits

At Growing Potential, we’ve proudly provided community-led early education and family services across Western Sydney since 1948. Our primary focus has always been supporting children, scrtrengthening families, and building resilient communities. Typically, we stay out of politics and focus solely on delivering compassionate, community-based early education.

But this federal election, we feel compelled to speak out.

The childcare sector is in crisis. The system is now dominated by private and corporate providers. Costs are rising. Staff are leaving. Families are confused and under-supported. Regulation is failing. Meanwhile, services like ours: community-led, not-for-profit, and focused on quality, are being asked to do more with less.

Recent reports from Four Corners and ABC News highlight incidents of compromised safety and inadequate regulatory oversight, particularly within profit-driven childcare services. These findings reinforce what we’ve been observing for some time now: that putting profits first harms children, families, and educators alike.

Our community deserves better. Children First provides a vital alternative—community-led, not-for-profit childcare where every resource supports children’s learning, nutrition, safety, and staff wellbeing. Our educators are supported and respected, our meals nutritious and abundant, and our environment stable and secure.

In this federal election, we urge decision-makers to commit urgently to:

• Prioritising not-for-profit childcare providers, ensuring public funds are invested directly into quality care and education rather than shareholder returns.
• Immediately delivering workforce retention payments promised to childcare educators, ensuring sustainable and quality care.
• Supporting integrated early intervention and accessible family navigation services within childcare centres, ensuring no child or family is left without essential support.

This election, let’s send a clear message to all candidates: Western Sydney wants to put children before profit.