How childcare waitlists work in Sydney.

Every childcare centre with more demand than places runs a waiting list, and from the outside they all look the same: you put your name down and you wait. From the inside there is a system, and knowing how it works changes when you should join and what you should expect. Here is how ours run.

How the list works at our centres

Joining is free, and it starts with an application form naming your child, their date of birth and the days you want. When a place opens in the right age group, the director works through the list and offers it. Two things decide the order: priority of access, then the date you joined.

For funded preschool-age places, the NSW Start Strong guidelines (section 11.1) ask services to give priority, in no set order, to children who are 4 by 31 July and not yet at school, and to 3 year olds from low-income families, Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander children, children with disability or additional needs, children with English language needs, and children at risk of significant harm. Our enrolment procedure sets out the priority groups we use, then date order on the waiting list; it is being updated to reflect the current guidance.

Why the baby room is the hardest place to get

The under-2 room is nearly always the hardest place to get, and the reason is simple maths, not popularity. The law requires 1 educator for every 4 babies, against 1 to 10 for the over-3s, so baby rooms are small: at Normanhurst, the Possum Room takes just 12 of the centre's 48 places. And because a child who starts as a baby can stay at the same centre until school, those places turn over slowly.

The practical advice follows directly: if you will need a baby or toddler place, join the list as early as you reasonably can. Places for 3 to 6 year olds come up more often, because the rooms are bigger.

When places open up

Most places change hands at the start of each year. The oldest children leave for school, everyone else moves up a room, and the places freed at the bottom are filled from the list. Our centres also re-enrol families annually, so the year's bookings settle around the same time. That makes late in the year the moment when the following year's places are decided, and a good time to already be on the list.

Places appear mid-year too, when a family moves suburbs or changes days. Those offers can come with short notice, which is its own reason to keep your contact details current with the centre.

Joining a list when you need care soon

A waiting list is not always a long wait. Availability differs by room and by month, and sometimes the day pattern you want is open right now while a different pattern is full. If you need care in the near term, ask the centre directly rather than assuming the list means a year; the answer is often more encouraging than the word "waitlist" suggests.

When the offer comes

An offer at our centres arrives as a letter setting out the days and fees. Accepting it means completing the enrolment paperwork and paying a $500 holding deposit, which is applied to your final invoice when your child eventually leaves. From there it is orientation visits, and then the first proper day.

The waitlist is separate from Centrelink. Registering for the Child Care Subsidy is a separate process through myGov, and it is worth starting early; our guides to claiming CCS and confirming your enrolment cover both ends of it.

Put your name down

You can join centrally through our waitlist application, or directly with a centre: Roseville's waitlist form, St Ives Chase, Normanhurst or West Ryde. It costs nothing, and the earlier you join, the higher your place on the list.