New owners are being sought for a not-for-profit early childhood service on the University of WA campus after it entered voluntary administration last week.
The service, which operates under the name Unicare, went into voluntary administration on 7 December, when WA insolvency Solutions were appointed voluntary administrators.
Unicare was last in the news in 2019, when the service suddenly closed overnight, sparking a Regulatory Authority investigation.
In 2019, United Voice (now known as United Workers Union) held a meeting with staff, issuing a public statement which noted that its members “have been concerned about the operation of the centre for a significant period of time”.
The service opened in 1988 offering education and care for 122 children, however its history stretches back to 1971 when a group of students seeking care established the University Child Care Club and opened a small house the following year to care for 20 children.
This grew to three houses by 1975, with Unicare’s current building on Parkway built in 1985. Run by a parent board, the service offers care for children aged four months to four years of age. Jimmy Trpcevski and David Hurt from WA Insolvency Solutions’ will run the…