澳大利亚幼托系统正面临严重的人员流失问题。[1]52.4%的幼托工作岗位持续时间不足一年，这一比例是中小学教育的两倍多，后者的相应数字为24.5%。[1]低廉的薪酬是导致这一现象的关键因素——幼托教育工作者的时薪约为A$34.30，远低于全职业平均水平A$42.40，更远低于学校教师的A$62。[1]
过度流失对服务稳定性和质量造成了广泛影响。[1]约32%的长期幼托服务自2013年以来至少更换过一次认可提供者，其中营利性机构的更换率达到40%，而非营利机构仅为11%。[1]在行业扩张方面，过去25年间长期幼托名额从190900增至约720000，其中74%的新增名额来自私营营利性提供者。[1]值得关注的是，大型私营营利性提供者的执法行动记录比其他管理类型高三倍以上，进一步反映了行业内的质量和安全问题。[1]研究建议政府改革资金模式，重点关注高质量幼托服务的提供以及弱势地区的稳定供应。[1]
Australia's childcare sector faces a significant workforce stability crisis that poses risks to service quality and child safety. More than half of childcare positions last less than a year, with 52.4% of roles having a tenure below twelve months—more than double the 24.5% rate observed in primary and secondary education.[1] This elevated turnover reflects broader structural challenges within the industry, including inadequate compensation for educators.
Childcare workers earn approximately A$34.30 per hour, substantially below the national average wage of A$42.40 across all occupations and significantly lower than the A$62 hourly rate for school teachers.[1] The financial constraints facing the sector have contributed to widespread instability in service provision. Long-term childcare arrangements have experienced particularly high provider turnover, with approximately 32% of services changing approved providers at least once since 2013.[1] Among for-profit operators, this figure rises to 40%, compared to just 11% for nonprofit providers.[1]
Growth in the childcare market over the past quarter-century has been dominated by private for-profit providers. Long-term childcare places expanded from 190,900 to approximately 720,000 over this period, with private for-profit operators accounting for 74% of the increase.[1] Research indicates that large private for-profit providers have regulatory enforcement records more than three times higher than those of other management types.[1] These findings suggest that addressing workforce compensation, funding models, and service stability should be priorities for improving outcomes in Australia's childcare system.
