Children with complex needs are being turned away from Australian childcare centres due to low funding and staff burnout. The government’s Inclusion Support Program (ISP) is meant to help by funding extra staff, but the money covers only about half the real cost. Centres must pay the rest themselves. Parents like Nawaz, whose son Zayne has speech and behavioural challenges, say centres asked them to leave because they couldn't wait for National Disability Insurance Scheme (NDIS) funding. "They were not ready to wait," Nawaz told Guardian Australia. Even after NDIS interviews, childcare centres said, "no, no, no, you have to find another one." Industry leaders warn the ISP needs fixing before wider childcare reforms happen. Paul Mondo, president of the Australian Childcare Alliance, said inadequate support pushes staff to reject children with complex needs. He said, "Sometimes services do make those decisions [to turn away children], which is not an outcome any of us want to see at all." Goodstart, a large childcare operator, said inclusion funding is far below costs. CEO Ros Baxter said they get about $13 million but spend $12.3 million extra to care properly. "The base rate for a childcare worker is $39 an hour, nearly twice the ISP funding," she said. Baxter called the lack of inclusion funding a "biggest economic crisis." Diagnosis requirements also delay help. Many children wait two to five months for formal diagnosis before centres can apply for funds. Caroline Croser-Barlow of The Front Project explained, "This is very reactive and excludes some kids." Researcher Karen Thorpe found staff burnout partly due to lack of support for children with complex needs. She said, "If seven or eight of those children have additional needs and you can't get enough support... that is what makes staff feel unwell." Early Childhood Education Minister Jess Walsh said the government is committed to quality learning and has increased ISP support, with 26,000 children helped in 2024-25, up from 15,800 in 2020-21. But the call for better funding and faster support continues as children and families face uncertainty and childcare centres struggle to provide inclusive care.