NOTRE DAME students say the Catholic institution must bridge the gap for mothers, as its Fremantle campus remains the only uni in Perth without formal childcare arrangements, or an on-campus creche.

Catherine Gourley chose to study at Notre Dame for the Fremantle location and “on campus community”.

But as a fourth-year secondary education student and new mother, Ms Gourley said the lack of childcare has dampened her experience.

In the first six weeks of the 2026 semester, she missed more than half a dozen classes due to issues with childcare availability. 

When Ms Gourley was able to make it to campus for her eight-hour class load, she had to arrange for family members to bring her baby into Fremantle to keep up with her feeding schedule.

“I simply can’t pump enough for that period of time,” she said. 

“If I had already had (my child) before starting this degree, I would have picked a different university with childcare services,” Ms Gourley said. 

Notre Dame Student Association women’s representative Carla Lane said the recent addition of parenting rooms in the university were undermined by the absence of childcare facilities. 

“There’s no point in having parent rooms if you don’t have the crèche to bring them to while you have class,” she said.

Ms Lane’s role in the welfare committee of the student association sees her focus on the welfare of students when they’re at university, supporting Notre Dame’s push to boost campus culture this semester. 

Barrier

“The welfare team have been very onto building that environment but there’s obviously a gap and a barrier for parents,” Ms Lane said.  

“There’s definitely resources that they can use to create this,” she says of building a creche.

“It’s just not been actioned; it’s not been thought about.” 

Creating a creche would be a “win-win,” scenario providing “a good casual job for students” with short shifts on campus, while allowing student parents to “complete their education to their fullest,” Ms Lane said. 

She’s planning to organise a “campus connect” event to “collect numbers and signatures of people that would benefit” from the creche, along with approaching the uni’s access and inclusion department to increase awareness of learning access plans (LAPs) for student parents.

The department told the Herald it currently provides LAPs to students who are pregnant, experiencing postpartum conditions, or requiring breastfeeding breaks during exams, with case-by-case adjustments including reasonable extensions and breaks within exams.

But neither Ms Gourley, who has been both pregnant and breastfeeding during her degree, nor women’s rep Ms Lane, were aware that these were available. 

The department declined to comment on whether the absence of a crèche was a gap in support, saying the matter was outside its remit. 

It also said it would not be advocating internally to address it. 

Ms Gourley, who transferred from Murdoch University to Notre Dame for its reputation in the teaching profession and its intimate community, says she’s now pushing through her time at the uni. 

“Maybe if I was in my first or second year I would have done it,” she said about transferring elsewhere.

“It’s better just to stick it out.”

Notre Dame was contacted for comment.

Disclaimer: Betty Redden is a Notre Dame Australia journalism student.

by BETTY REDDEN