Less than 24 hours after Kathleen Atkins was told her daughter's preschool was going into voluntary administration the centre was shut.

Her 3-year-old is among nearly 70 other children who attend Broken Hill's Playtime Preschool, a not-for-profit which suddenly closed its doors last week after telling parents and staff it was in approximately $1 million of debt with the Australian Tax Office (ATO).

The day before parents were told the preschool would enter a temporary closure with no immediate timeline for reopening, Ms Atkins said she had paid in advance for the remainder of the semester.

The news has left parents like Ms Atkins upset and frustrated with few childcare alternatives in Broken Hill, which is considered a "childcare desert" .

"I'm just wondering how on earth it got that

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