Eliza Harris spent so long on childcare waiting lists in central Queensland that her family resorted to hiring a nanny, while other women in the region fear they will have to give up their jobs to look after their kids.
The Mitchell Institute for Education and Health Policy at Victoria University revealed this week that one in three people live in childcare "deserts" around the country in areas where there are more than three times as many children as there are daycare options.
In central Queensland, Calliope ranks as the third-worst spot in the state, with more than 7.4 children for every childcare vacancy.
In Biloela, where Ms Harris lives, that figure is 3.1 children for every position.
"It all up would have been about 12, 18 months [on waitlists]," she said.
While Ms Harris was eligible for a subsidised nanny program offered to families in rural communities, it restricted her working options, forcing her to only take on shiftwork so she could be home more.
"You've got people that are moving to Biloela for work because it is a working town, with the mine and the power station," she said.
"But there's no real commitment, rurally, for families to stick around once they've been here.
'Really, really frustrating'
In the mining and agriculture town of Emerald, Emily Hill is considering delaying returning to work because there is no-one to look after her daughter, Raegan.
She approached three different providers a year ago when she was still pregnant and was put on a waitlist.
"I've been told that a vacancy probably is not likely to appear until at least this time next year, in 2023," Ms Hill said.
"It's really, really frustrating."
Ms Hill hopes to return to work in May, but has accepted there will probably not be a position for her daughter.
"I'm having to potentially give up my profession because I can't get her into a daycare … which then also affects our income as a family," she said.
'At the mercy of the market'
Sandra Hawkins operates a for-profit childcare centre in Biloela and pours thousands of dollars into sponsoring overseas residents, but she said it still was not enough to cover her labour needs.
"When parents ask we tell them we can't take the children simply because we don't have the staff to look after them," she said.
Her centre is licensed to take up to 75 children, but only has 45 at the moment.
She said for Biloela the issue is attracting staff, not a lack of childcare centres.
"If I put one extra staff on, I could potentially offer 10 places," she said.
Creche and Kindegarten (C&K) Association chief executive Sandra Cheeseman said there were issues with staffing, remuneration and providing affordable housing in some communities.
"The childcare sector has been largely left to the market and really lacks any robust planning model," she said.
"So we're at the mercy of the market."
Dr Cheeseman said it was more expensive to operate centres in regional communities than it was in Brisbane.
"Providers like C&K, we are a not-for-profit provider and we're carrying the load of offering childcare provisions in many of these communities where the market won't go," she said.
Dr Cheeseman said there had been success in some mining regions where industry had partnered with providers to provide childcare at affordable rates.
