Hopetoun council urges state aid as childcare services face two-year shutdown
The mayor of Hopetoun warns the town could remain without any childcare for another two years unless the Victorian government provides funding for a new facility.
Families in Hopetoun, Victoria, have been without a childcare centre since April 2024 when Uniting Vic Tas shut the Hopetoun Uniting Early Learning site due to workforce shortages. A council-run centre reopened in 2025 under Emerge Early Years, but a burst water pipe in early 2026 caused extensive damage, forcing closure and requiring extensive stabilisation that could take up to 18 months to dry plus another 24 weeks for repairs.
Mayor Andrew McLean warned the community could be without childcare for another two years and called on the state government to fund a new integrated early-years facility, either on the Hopetoun P-12 College site or by rebuilding the damaged council building with joint insurance and government money. The temporary kindergarten was moved to the Hopetoun Senior Citizens building, displacing seniors, while the Department of Education said no relocatable premises are available and a $2.5 million rebuild is not justified. Council officials say the lack of childcare threatens local workforce participation and could drive families away, and state MP Jade Benham has echoed the call for a solution.
Why it matters
Without childcare, rural families struggle to work and the community risks losing residents.
In this story
