Belmont Jellybeans is set to close, as G8 Education shuts 40 centres across Australia, affecting over 1100 families.
Families Offered Alternative Places After Sudden Closure
A national childcare centre network has offered southern suburbs families alternative places in nearby centres, after announcing it would suspend operations at 12 centres last week. Families and staff were blindsided when G8 Education suddenly closed 40 centres across Australia, including a dozen in Western Australia, forcing hundreds of parents to scramble to find alternative childcare places.
The company said more than 1100 families have been affected nationally, and it is working with relevant regulators in each state and territory during the process. The situation has highlighted concerns about the viability of the embattled sector, which has faced falling occupancy rates, child safety scandals, and regulatory failures amid an oversupply of centres.
Specific Centres Closing in WA
Jellybeans centres in Belmont, Attadale, and Wembley; Buggles centres in Baldivis, Beckenham, and Success; and five Great Beginnings centres are among the WA providers that will close in the coming month. The company told PerthNow this week that children attending Jellybeans Attadale in Melville and Buggles Child Care Success in Cockburn have been offered places at Great Beginnings Applecross and Hammond Park. Both nearby centres have vacancies.
G8 Education CEO and managing director Pejman Okhovat stated: “The suspension of services forms part of a broader review of our centres to ensure our network can be sustainably operated and continue to deliver safe, high-quality outcomes for children and families.” He added that the decision was not taken lightly and reflects a range of operational considerations, including evolving family demand, lower birth rates, and changing operating conditions. The company’s immediate focus remains on supporting families to transition to nearby centres and redeploying team members where possible.
Parent Reactions
Larisha Vaswani’s three-year-old son Darsheel has been attending Jellybeans in Wembley for more than two years. She expressed shock, annoyance, and disappointment at the sudden announcement. “It was random and abrupt. No warning, no comms, no heads up of any sort. Too short a notice of one month,” she said. “We pay $215 a day before the child care subsidy, and it is ridiculous to have such a sudden shutdown, considering they did massive renovations last year. It’s a mad dash at the moment, emailing centres and emailing other parents to see where they are putting their kids so he can have a friend at a new place.”
The company stated that future options for affected centres may include transferring to another operator or returning premises to the landlord. “We are prioritising continuity of care, learning and support for all children during the transition period,” the company said online. “We are committed to working closely with each impacted family to transition care to nearby centres on or before the suspension commences.”
Sector-Wide Concerns
Centre for Policy Development CEO Andrew Hudson said the latest crisis highlights failures of an increasingly for-profit sector, with 75 per cent of childcare centres now privately owned. The organisation is calling for a new model where the government funds services directly and sets rules on where centres open and how much they charge. Hudson said this would encourage more not-for-profit and government-run providers to enter the system. He noted that the G8 news further highlights an oversupply in the sector, particularly in affluent and inner-city areas, while outer suburbs face an undersupply. Productivity Commission data reveals WA saw the biggest increase in the number of childcare centres between 2021 and last year, up 26 per cent, more than double the rate of other states.
