Childcare opportunities coming to Southern Grampians
Published on 14 October 2025
The Southern Grampians is set to welcome two new long day care facilities in Hamilton, as a result of strong advocacy from Council and the community to increase local childcare options.
Construction of Bright Start Childcare on Station Street is scheduled to commence in January 2026, while Piece Property will deliver an additional facility as part of the Lakes Edge housing development.
Southern Grampians Shire Council Mayor Dennis Heslin said the lack of available childcare options has proved exceedingly challenging for families and newcomers to the region.
“Available childcare has been a huge issue within the Southern Grampians for years where the number of children on waiting lists far exceeds the number of available places for care,” said Cr Heslin.
“This impact has been felt across both family life and professionally where families have had to make big decisions about their ability to return to work after having children.
“It has also been an issue in attracting new families and key workers to the region where they simply haven’t had the opportunity to settle due to restricted childcare options.
“To know we are on the cusp of having two brand new facilities built here both with 100 plus spaces will go a long way in supporting families and regional growth.”
BNAA CEO Brent Wilson from Bright Start is looking forward to starting the construction phase of their Station Street facility.
“We are looking at starting construction on our Hamilton location in January 2026 after a long three-four year search to find a suitable location,” said Mr Wilson. “Our new facility will provide places for up to 148 children where those aged from six weeks to school age will have the opportunity to attend. The service will operate extended long day care as well as a three and four-year-old kinder program.
“The facility will be a cookie-cutter copy of our newest facility that’s just opened in Warrnambool so if any prospective families would like to have an early preview of what they should expect to see in the Southern Grampians, they are more than welcome to make an appointment for a walk-through at our Warrnambool location.
“We are excited and really looking forward to getting our facility up and running for the people of the Southern Grampians and welcoming the littlest residents to our service,” concluded Mr Wilson.
Community are also invited to register their interest in the new childcare facility being built by Piece Property PTY LTD as part of the Lakes Edge Housing Development project. Registrations of interest will inform the planning for the Lakes Edge Development and specifically the childcare facilities.
The planned development will see approximately 350 houses built at Lake Hamilton with the new 120 space childcare facility being built in phase one to support community growth. Families and carers of children aged up to five years of age are invited to register their interest for children attending the service, including number of days care would be needed.
Southern Grampians Shire Council CEO Tony Doyle recognised the importance of having access to quality childcare services for Southern Grampians families.
“We know statistically and anecdotally that childcare services within our region are at capacity and are well and truly stretched,” said Mr Doyle.
“This has limited the ability of working families and is something that we as a Council have also experienced in staff finding it hard to return to the workforce due to lack of available care.
“As a Council, we have been really active in advocating for more options for our residents where we have met with, including Victorian Ministerial Meeting, meetings with the Education Department and working regionally on the training of early years educators.”
While this project is still in the development phase, Piece have committed to building the childcare facility in the first phase to support local families secure childcare services which are urgently needed.
Community members are encouraged to check out the Piece Property website and fill in an expression of interest form to help developers better understand the community needs and aspirations from this service.
Piece Property Pty Ltd were announced as the successful land developer in September 2024 to develop Lakes Edge vacant land, offering a range of housing options, to relieve pressure on the region’s housing market as well as supply of a much-needed childcare facility. The housing development will also include a green space with one hectare of land to be developed into an open public space with communal BBQs and play areas.
The need for new housing was identified by Council as a key priority to address shortages in the shire and to assist local businesses with recruitment key skills shortages.
Feedback, questions and childcare expression of interest form can be directed to Piece Property at www.pieceproperty.com/webinar-registration. Information on Bright Start is available at Bright Start Childcare + Early Learning Centre.