Not Leaving ‘Lone Migrant Mothers’ Behind: The Role of Place-based Childcare Support in Australia’s Marginalised Neighbourhoods

Abstract

In Australia, lone migrant mothers remain an invisible social category within the childcare-poverty discourse. There has been an increase in the population of lone mothers migrating to Australia in pursuit of a better economic life, though with no childcare support. Within the public and political spheres, they are homogenised as single mothers incognisant of how gender intersects with factors such as migration status, ethnicity, lone parenting, and class to induce poverty. Childcare support is not only a pillar to societal flourishment and advancement but also a strategy to settlement and integration. This study aimed at examining lone migrant mothers’ experiences with place-based childcare support within one of the marginalised neighbourhoods in the Liverpool LGA. While dominant narratives broadly associate childcare support to women’s labour participation and gender equality, there is limited knowledge on the role of place-based childcare support among lone migrant mothers. Drawing on Sen’s capabilities theoretical framework, the article demonstrates that place-based childcare support is not only a welfare service but a tool for building localism. Consequently, translating into a structure for creating healthy spaces, place-making and community cohesion, and building neighbourhood capacity – aspects considered core to socio-economic inclusion of women who migrate as lone parents.