This resort town is losing its only childcare centre. Families say they can’t live here without one

The families who live permanently in the alpine resort of Falls Creek make extraordinary lifestyle adjustments for the privilege of calling the unique mountain environment home.

The nearest 24-hour health service is at least an hour’s drive away. The only supermarket on the resort is only open limited hours.

But those who live at Falls Creek say the local childcare centre and kindergarten is an essential service they cannot do without.

In November this year, the residents were shocked to learn that state government body Alpine Resorts Victoria decided it would no longer operate the centre. It will cease operating the service in February after reporting it was running at a financial loss.

Falls Creek resident and accommodation business operator Lachlan Beckett said the decision had caused immense stress in the community. He said the nearest childcare centre, in Mount Beauty, was 45 minutes away in summer and at least an hour in winter and is unable to offer seven-day care.

“It’s too far. That’s four hours a day out of our schedule,” he said.

Beckett and his partner Amy Hodge have five children – all of whom have either attended the Falls Creek childcare centre or are enrolled there now.

Alpine Resorts Victoria has put out a tender for another operator. But the centre is expected to close before a replacement can be found.

The families residing at Falls Creek are now desperately trying to find a way to operate the childcare centre, including running it themselves. But they said the tight timeframe and the Christmas holidays made that an almost impossible task.

“Time is the big thing we need,” Beckett said.

He fears businesses will suffer if they cannot access childcare on the mountain.

“We couldn’t operate our business seven days a week,” he said. “We’ll have to employ more staff to cover what we’d normally do when we’re looking after kids. So the costs will start going up for everyone.”

There are 17 children enrolled at the childcare centre, which is open seven days a week in winter. However, Hodge said this year, casual childcare was no longer offered during the ski season.

She said cutting the casual service had affected the centre’s finances.

“They cut that out and all of a sudden, we’re not viable,” Hodge said.

She feared children would be unprepared for school if they lost access to the childcare centre.

The 2021 census shows Falls Creek’s population is just over 320.

Zac Howard moved to Falls Creek with his partner for winters in 2011 and has been there permanently in 2017. He now has two children – his eldest, Ollie, attended the centre until reaching prep, and younger child Zara currently attends the centre. Howard runs an accommodation service and a trail running business as well working as a snowboard instructor and a camp coordinator for Disabled Wintersport Australia.

Howard said the looming closure would have widespread ramifications for people wanting to live at Falls Creek.

“Young couples here would have to leave to have a family,” he said. “Young couples would not bring families here.”

Howard said local emergency services, including the Country Fire Authority and the State Emergency Service, relied on permanent Falls Creek residents, but they would struggle with the time commitment of volunteering without childcare.

In a statement, Falls Creek general manager Colleen Gwynne said Alpine Resorts Victoria had reviewed the operation of the childcare centre and decided to cease operating the service based on financial and workforce challenges.

She said the high level of compliance requirements was not core business for Alpine Resorts Victoria. Gwynne said the economic shortfall would reach about $177,000 by the end of the financial year.

“While ARV will no longer run this service, it appreciates that there may be dedicated childcare providers with capacity to do so as part of an existing operation,” she said.

Gwynne said 14 of the children had found alternative placements. She confirmed Alpine Resorts Victoria had gone to market with an expression of interest to transition the service to another provider in 2026.

Falls Creek this year had almost 165,000 visitors up to October 5. But the popular resort has experienced challenging conditions, including a landslide that impeded access to the mountain in 2023 and lockdowns during the COVID-19 pandemic.

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