Opening a childcare centre in Australia is one of the most complex business undertakings in the country. It sits at the intersection of property development, government regulation, construction, workforce compliance, and early childhood education law. Done well, it creates a durable, community-essential business. Done without preparation, it produces missed timelines, cost blowouts, and approvals that arrive in the wrong order.

This guide walks through every major stage — from provider registration through DA lodgement, construction, and first-day staffing — with honest figures for costs and timelines, drawn from current regulatory requirements and real development experience across Australia.

Step 1: Become an Approved Provider

Before a single approval can be sought for a childcare service, the operator must hold Provider Approval under the Education and Care Services National Law. Provider Approval is separate from Service Approval (which covers the physical premises and specific service) and must come first.

Applications are submitted through your state or territory's regulatory authority — not ACECQA directly. ACECQA is the national body that oversees the National Quality Framework, but day-to-day approvals are administered by:

  • Queensland: Department of Education
  • NSW: Department of Education
  • Victoria: Department of Education and Training
  • South Australia: Department for Education
  • Western Australia: Department of Education
  • Tasmania: Department for Education, Children and Young People
  • ACT: Education Directorate
  • Northern Territory: Department of Education

The core of the Provider Approval application is the fitness and propriety assessment. The regulatory authority needs to be satisfied that the applicant — whether an individual or an entity — is fit to be responsible for the education, care, and wellbeing of children. This involves submitting the PA02 Declaration of fitness and propriety form, which requires disclosure of any relevant criminal history, bankruptcy, insolvency, prior approval refusals or cancellations, and Working With Children Check (WWCC) status for any persons with management or control of the service.

For companies and trusts, every person with management or control must be named and assessed individually. This includes directors, trustees, and in some cases significant shareholders — so corporate structure decisions made early in a development project can affect the Provider Approval timeline.

Provider Approval fees are set by each state and territory and indexed annually. As a guide, expect to pay approximately $800–$1,600 for a provider approval application. Processing times vary but typically run 4–8 weeks once a complete application is lodged.

Step 2: Service Approval

Once Provider Approval is granted, each individual childcare centre requires its own Service Approval. For a long day care (LDC) centre — the most common format for new greenfield childcare developments — this approval confirms the premises, staffing structure, and operating model are compliant with the National Law and National Regulations.

Service Approval applications typically require:

  • Proof of Provider Approval
  • Evidence of suitable premises (building approval, certificate of occupancy, or equivalent)
  • Proposed staffing structure and qualification evidence
  • Emergency management and evacuation plan
  • Statement of philosophy
  • Evidence of Public Liability Insurance (minimum $20 million)

Service Approval fees are calculated on the number of approved places and vary by state. For a 90-place long day care centre, budget approximately $1,500–$3,500 in regulatory fees. Approval timelines run 4–10 weeks from a complete application — though in practice, this is often the final step that occurs after construction is complete and a certificate of occupancy has been issued.

The approved number of places matters for everything that follows: it determines educator ratios, physical space requirements, fee income capacity, and — importantly — the centre's value for financing and eventual sale.

Step 3: Site Selection and Planning Feasibility

Childcare centres are classified as a specific land use in every state's planning framework, and not every site is suitable — or approvable. Before committing to a site, operators and developers need to understand the planning controls that apply and whether a centre is a permissible use.

Key planning considerations include:

  • Zoning permissibility: Most states permit childcare centres in residential zones (with or without consent), commercial zones, and some mixed-use zones. Industrial and rural zones typically require a merit assessment or are prohibited.
  • Proximity rules: Some councils impose separation requirements between childcare centres (to avoid oversupply), or restrict centres near busy roads, industrial sites, or overhead power lines.
  • Acoustic performance: Children's play noise is a common grounds for objection and refusal. All new developments need to demonstrate compliance with state environmental protection noise guidelines.
  • Traffic generation: A 90-place centre generates significant vehicle movements during drop-off and pick-up. A traffic impact assessment (TIA) is almost always required and can trigger costly intersection upgrades.
  • Outdoor space: National Regulations require at least 7 sqm of outdoor play space per child (excluding areas used for circulation, toilets, and shade structures). This is a hard physical constraint that limits what sites are viable.

Completing a planning feasibility assessment before signing a lease or land contract is essential. Many developers have committed to sites that could not yield an approvable number of places due to site dimensions, setbacks, or traffic constraints.

Step 4: The Development Application (DA) Process

New childcare centres require development consent from the relevant planning authority — in most cases the local council. This is the DA (Development Application) process, and it is typically the longest and most uncertain phase of the entire development timeline.

A DA for a childcare centre requires architectural drawings, a Statement of Environmental Effects, an acoustic assessment, traffic impact assessment, BASIX certificate (NSW), shadow diagrams, landscape plans, and — in many councils — a social impact or community needs assessment. The application is publicly notified, meaning neighbours can lodge objections.

Realistic timelines:

  • Preparing the DA package: 3–5 months (design, consultants, reports)
  • Council determination period: technically 40–60 business days in most states, but contested DAs frequently take 6–12 months from lodgement to approval
  • Complex or objected DAs: 12–18+ months, potentially with a review by the Land and Environment Court (NSW) or equivalent tribunal

In some jurisdictions — particularly NSW — larger developments may be assessed as Regionally Significant Development (RSD) or State Significant Development (SSD), which shifts the decision-making authority to a regional planning panel or the Department of Planning. These pathways can be faster in some circumstances but require engagement with different approval processes.

DA approval costs include: council fees (typically $10,000–$40,000 depending on project value and council), consultant fees (architect, town planner, traffic engineer, acoustic engineer, landscape architect — often $60,000–$120,000 combined for a full DA package), and potentially legal costs if the DA is appealed or conditions are contested.

Step 5: Construction

Once DA consent is issued and a construction certificate or building permit obtained, construction can begin. A purpose-built, ground-up childcare centre is a Building Code of Australia Class 9b building when it accommodates 30 or more children simultaneously — which brings specific fire, egress, accessibility, and structural requirements that differ from a residential or commercial fitout.

Minimum space requirements under the National Regulations:

  • Indoor: at least 3.25 sqm per child of unencumbered indoor space (some states require more)
  • Outdoor: at least 7 sqm per child of unencumbered outdoor space
  • A 90-place centre requires a minimum of approximately 292 sqm of indoor and 630 sqm of outdoor play space — before bathrooms, offices, storage, kitchen, corridors, and covered walkways

Construction costs vary significantly by state, builder, site conditions, and specification level. Current industry estimates for purpose-built childcare centres in Australia range from:

  • Basic specification: $19,000–$22,000 per approved place
  • Mid-range specification: $22,000–$28,000 per approved place
  • High specification / premium: $28,000–$34,000+ per approved place

For a 90-place centre, total construction cost therefore typically falls between $1.7 million and $3.1 million, excluding land, DA costs, consultant fees, and fitout. Fitout — furniture, resources, outdoor equipment, kitchen and laundry equipment, signage — typically adds $150,000–$400,000 depending on specification.

Construction timelines for a standard greenfield long day care centre run 14–20 months from start on site to completion. When combined with the design and DA phase, total elapsed time from project inception to opening day is realistically 24–36 months for a new build — and often longer in high-demand urban areas where planning complexity is greater.

Step 6: Staffing — Ratios, Qualifications, and the Responsible Person

The National Regulations set mandatory educator-to-child ratios that cannot be compromised. Every approved centre must meet these ratios at all times during operating hours:

  • 0–24 months: 1 educator per 4 children
  • 25–35 months: 1 educator per 5 children
  • 36 months to school age: 1 educator per 11 children (1:10 in some states)
  • Outside school hours care: 1 educator per 15 children

Beyond ratios, qualification requirements apply across the team:

  • At least 50% of educators on duty must hold — or be actively working towards — a Certificate III in Early Childhood Education and Care
  • At least one educator per 30 children must hold — or be enrolled in — a Diploma of Early Childhood Education and Care
  • Services with 25 or more approved places must have a qualified Early Childhood Teacher (ECT) present for a minimum number of hours per week (varying by state and service size)
  • Large services (typically 60+ approved places in most states) must have an ECT available for each operating session

All educators must hold a current Working With Children Check, current first aid certification (including anaphylaxis and asthma management training), and current child protection training appropriate to their role.

The Nominated Supervisor is responsible for day-to-day management of the service and must be approved by the regulatory authority. A Responsible Person must be physically present at the service at all times when children are in attendance — this is a non-negotiable legal requirement. Services that cannot demonstrate a Responsible Person is on site at all times risk regulatory action, including conditions, suspensions, or cancellation of service approval.

Putting It Together: A Realistic Project Timeline

For those who want the full picture in one view, here is how a typical greenfield long day care development unfolds:

  • Months 1–3: Site acquisition, feasibility assessment, planning advice, initial design brief
  • Months 3–6: Provider Approval application, architectural design commenced
  • Months 4–9: DA package preparation — design, consultants, reports, council pre-lodgement
  • Months 9–18: DA lodged and under assessment (6–9 months typical; contested DAs longer)
  • Months 18–20: Construction certificate / building permit, builder appointed, construction commences
  • Months 20–36: Construction (14–18 months typical for a purpose-built LDC)
  • Months 34–38: Certificate of occupancy, Service Approval lodged and approved, staff recruited, fitout complete
  • Month 36–40: Opening day

The range from concept to opening is wide — 24 months is possible for a straightforward DA in a cooperative council with an experienced team. Thirty-six months or more is common for contested sites, complex planning environments, or teams encountering the process for the first time.

Common Mistakes That Delay or Derail New Developments

Most development problems are foreseeable. The ones that cause the most damage tend to cluster around three areas:

  • Buying or leasing a site before completing a planning feasibility. Zoning constraints, proximity rules, site dimensions, or traffic generation limits can make a site unviable for an approvable number of places — discovering this after contracts are exchanged is costly.
  • Applying for Service Approval before the building is complete. Most regulatory authorities require a certificate of occupancy (or equivalent) before service approval is granted. The sequencing of these approvals must be carefully managed.
  • Underestimating staffing lead times. Recruiting a qualified Director and educator team — particularly ECTs, who are genuinely scarce in many markets — takes time. Centres that begin recruitment 3–4 months before opening frequently find themselves short of qualified staff on day one.

Working With an Experienced Development Partner

The approvals, physical requirements, and staffing obligations described in this guide are the baseline — they apply equally to every new approved service in Australia. What varies enormously is how well those requirements are navigated: whether DA conditions are workable or burdensome, whether construction costs are market-aligned, whether the team that opens the centre is capable of achieving strong occupancy from day one.

ELM works with developers, landowners, and investors across every stage of the new childcare development process — from initial feasibility and planning advice through to construction coordination, pre-opening operations, and ongoing management. Our Developments partnership is designed specifically for new greenfield and conversion projects, and our Discovery Packs give serious operators a clear-eyed view of what a development in their specific market looks like before any major commitment is made.

If you are planning a new childcare centre — whether you are at concept stage or mid-DA — talk to ELM. We have been through this process across multiple states and can help you avoid the mistakes that cost time and money at every stage.