Anglicare has agreed to continue providing childcare at Parliament House until the end of the year after a communication "breakdown" was blamed for this week's threat to close the service.
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Meetings on Thursday between Anglicare, the Department of Parliamentary Services and parents follow an intensive 24 hours of lobbying from all sides of politics.
It was at these meetings, one of which was described as "furious" by one person present, that the Department of Parliamentary Services raised the communication breakdown.
Assistant Minister for Education Sussan Ley, ACT Senator Kate Lundy, Labor's early childhood spokeswoman Kate Ellis and the Greens’ childcare spokeswoman Senator Sarah Hanson-Young all came out to express concern over a letter sent to parents saying services could end as early as September.
Jeremy Halcrow, the Anglicare NSW South West and ACT chief executive, said the organisation had agreed on Thursday with the Department of Parliamentary Services to stay in the building until the end of the year and was considering its options after that.
It is believed the department agreed to adjust security to make arrangements for casual staffing easier and to look at more flexibility in filling vacancies to lower costs for the small centre.
Parents at the meetings said letters sent to the department this year about the financial problems the centre was experiencing were not seen by senior public servants.
Parliamentary staff member Amy Rust said: "Anglicare first sent DPS a letter in March of this year indicating concerns around the viability of the centre and their financial takings. And they had nothing, no response, or anything."
A spokeswoman for the department said the March letter indicated "that on some occasions Anglicare experienced financial shortfalls for the service but did not suggest there was any issue with the overall viability of the service". The spokeswoman did not say whether senior public servants had seen the letter.
Ms Rust said: "Then in early July they [Anglicare] sent a very stern one, in the same vein as was sent to parents this week, and received no phone call back. On Monday the same letter was sent to [Department of Parliamentary Services secretary] Carol Mills and Ms Mills said that she scheduled a meeting.''
The department spokeswoman responded by saying: "The first advice that DPS received from the CEO of the relevant part of Anglicare indicating an intent to close the service was on July 8, 2014."
ABC producer Gillian Bradford, whose son suffered a severe brain injury that caused vision problems, occasional seizures and a severe intellectual disability, said via email that she "would never have made the decision to come back to work" without the childcare service in the high security Parliament House.
"The dedication, patience and care of the staff allowed our boy to rejoin the world," Ms Bradford said.
Parents said they remain hopeful a solution can be reached and the decades-long struggle for childcare in the building will not be thwarted after it was started just six years ago.
Mr Halcrow declined comment on whether Anglicare would continue the service if the conditions offered by Department of Parliamentary Services were favourable.
