Politics & Council
22 May, 2026
Government child care centre build model ‘three times dearer’
CHILD care centres being built by the State Government are costing millions of dollars more than to open a typical centre. Documents seen by the Loddon Herald show that of the 35 Early Learning Victoria centres being rolled out, the average cost is $26.3 million - each child care spot costing between $200,000 and $290,00.
CHILD care centres being built by the State Government are costing millions of dollars more than to open a typical centre. Documents seen by the Loddon Herald show that of the 35 Early Learning Victoria centres being rolled out, the average cost is $26.3 million - each child care spot costing between $200,000 and $290,00. Wedderburn’s centre that opened in February to little fanfare following a concerted community campaign that received bipartisan backing ahead of the 2022 state election has a combined 90 places for child care and kindergarten. The State Government has not confirmed the cost of the centre co-located at Wedderburn College. Sources say the cost blew out more than $3 million to at least $12 million. A Government spokesperson, saying they were responding for both the Minister Lizzie Blandthorn and the department, said: “Early Learning Victoria Dupitjin is a fantastic new centre giving up to 90 local children access to high-quality early learning and child care each day - exactly the kind of investment regional communities deserve. “The claim that this centre cost $23–26 million is incorrect - that figure misrepresents the budget papers and does not reflect the cost of this project.” The Government said the centre was jointly funded by the Victorian and Australian Governments, a revelation in February that angered Loddon Shire and the Inglewood Community Bank’s early childhood sub-committee wanting a centre in Inglewood or Bridgewater for southern Loddon communities families. “They claimed the $26 million average cost figure appears to be derived from dividing the total $921 million ELV budget allocation - which includes more than just construction costs - by 35 centres, and is not an accurate reflection of individual centre construction costs,” according to Government sources. Following a new agreement between Spring Street and Canberra this year, a Federal Government election commitment last May of $5 million for child care in Loddon was instead used by the State Government to pay for the Wedderburn centre that had already been built and opened. Ms Blandthorn wrote to the Inglewood group days before the agreement was announced saying the “Victorian Government is working with the Commonwealth to identify opportunities that address undersupply in areas of greatest need to ensure this investment makes the greatest impact”. Ms Blandthorn is yet to respond to questions on when the decision was made divert the federal cash to pay for the Wedderburn centre. External analysis given to the Loddon Herald says there is a “striking difference” between the cost of State Government child care builds and private centres. “The ELV infrastructure models about three times the capital cost per site compared with the non-government/local government stream,” the analysis says. “The policy case for expanding early childhood education is clear. However, the funding structure raises an obvious value-for-money question.” Freedom of Information documents for three of the first centres rolled out under the State Government’s early learning package - Frankston, Hallam, Sailors Gully in Bendigo also showed building issues during pre-approval inspections. They included playground construction and design and barriers to supervision. “The Victorian Early Childhood Regulatory Authority (VECRA) takes the safety and wellbeing of all children in education and care settings very seriously. We take a rigorous approach to assessing and considering all applications for service approval,” a spokesperson said. “Prior to a new service being granted approval to open, VECRA conducts comprehensive inspections to ensure services are compliant with the relevant laws and have child safety at their core.” They said that following pre-approval inspections and after addressing any identified risks or other issues Sailors Gully received the tick on January 24, 2025 Wedderburn and Hallan were approved on January 23 this year, a day after Frankston service approval. The Wedderburn centre also has a consulting room for child and family services, such as maternal and child health and allied health a multi-purpose room for community meetings and playgroups. The Inglewood bank group has continued to meet wth MPs to push the need for child care in southern communities. Loddon Shire says providing child care remains a priority in local towns. Its study showed a need and has put $250,000 on the table towards building a centre.
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