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Childcare consultant · VIC

Childcare Consultant, Bendigo

Bendigo is a major regional city and service hub for central Victoria, drawing families from surrounding towns into suburbs such as Strathfieldsaye, Kangaroo Flat, Epsom and Eaglehawk as well as the central city. As a regional centre it serves a wide catchment, so understanding how families travel for work and care matters when planning a new service. Talisha Long works with operators across the childcare lifecycle in Bendigo, from feasibility and planning through provider, service and CCS approvals and into operations, occupancy and quality.

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How Talisha helps in Bendigo

  • Planning permit and DA pathways for new centres across Bendigo and its surrounding townships
  • Provider, service and CCS approvals for new builds and acquisitions, with Building Blocks grant alignment
  • Feasibility and site selection that account for Bendigo's wide regional catchment and commuter patterns
  • Operations, occupancy and Assessment and Rating readiness for services across the Bendigo region

Local note. As a regional service hub, Bendigo draws demand from a broad surrounding catchment, which shapes where new childcare sites make sense.

Regulation and approvals in Victoria

Who regulates childcare in Bendigo?

In Bendigo, as everywhere in Victoria, education and care services are regulated under the National Quality Framework. The regulatory authority for Victoria is the Victorian Early Childhood Regulatory Authority (VECRA). It considers provider and service approvals, assesses and rates services against the National Quality Standard, and monitors compliance.

Do I need council approval as well as a service approval in Victoria?

Usually, yes. Building a new centre or changing how a site is used generally needs development approval under Victoria's planning system, typically through the local council. That is a separate process from the regulator's service approval, and a new centre normally needs both before it can open.

Does a provider approval from another state cover a service in Victoria?

Provider approval is recognised nationally, so an approved provider from another state or territory does not need a new provider approval. Each service still needs its own service approval from the regulatory authority where it is located, here the Victorian Early Childhood Regulatory Authority (VECRA).

Official source: Victorian Early Childhood Regulatory Authority (VECRA). Details checked 27 September 2026; regulators are sometimes restructured, so see ACECQA's current list of regulatory authorities. General information, not advice.

Related guides: provider approval vs service approval, the development application process and how to open a childcare centre.

One advisor, the entire lifecycle

Most consultants know a few areas. Talisha is the advisor that providers, developers, investors, government bodies and international operators engage for end-to-end feasibility, approvals and delivery across the whole journey, from raw land to a thriving, compliant operation. Almost no one in Australia can credibly claim that span: more than 30 years from the floor to the boardroom, having worked every level from Assistant Educator to Chief Operating Officer.

Working in Bendigo

Childcare Consultants Australia is national, Talisha supports clients in Bendigo both on-site and remotely, with deep knowledge of the relevant laws, policies and approval pathways and long-standing relationships across government.

Other locations we cover in Victoria