Uplyft to close childcare centres in three regional WA towns

Families in three towns in WA's south-west face changes to their working hours or lengthy trips for childcare after provider Uplyft announced it would shut its centres in Mount Barker, Katanning and Kojonup.

Uplyft chief executive Jo Sadler said lease conditions were behind the Mount Barker and Katanning closures, scheduled for completion by the end of December 2026. She said losing those centres would make the remaining Kojonup operation unviable. It will close in the first half of 2027.

Affected families said other centres had waiting lists or few places available. Mount Barker teacher Julienne Slade said either she would need leave from work or her husband, who works in agriculture, would have to stop working to care for their children.

Kojonup mechanic Ryan Colman, whose two-year-old attends Uplyft five days a week, said the town had no other childcare centre. He said an alternative would require two return trips of 80 kilometres each day, adding fuel costs to the family's expenses.

Figures from the Early Learning and Care Council of Australia show 152 services closed permanently between 2024 and mid-2026. Another 276 were at risk of closing by July 2027. Australian Childcare Alliance vice-president Nesha Hutchinson said inflation and high operating costs were putting pressure on services in regional, rural and remote communities across the country.