Councillors voted on the initiative at last week's ordinary meeting at the Trentham Mechanics Institute.

Council will also develop a long-term childcare strategy.

Mayor Janine Booth said, if successful, the initiative would allow up to 70 children to be catered for under the family day care program.

Currently, Daylesford's only childcare centre, Daylesford Community Child Care Centre, has no vacancies and a waiting list of 80 children.

Family Day Care, in which registered childcare workers provide child care within their own home, has been put up as a solution to the child care dilemma in the eastern part of the shire.

Cr Booth said carers could be registered to have up to seven children in their home.

Under the council initiative, up to $1500 could be available for up to 12 months to 10 carers.

"If we had 10 people starting up it would mean there would be 70 places in peoples' homes," Cr Booth said.

"The loan is made available to offset some of those initial set-up costs."

Creswick Children's Services, a 62-place childcare centre and 23-place kindergarten that will open in Creswick on January 27, is currently accepting enrolments but is filling up fast.

Creswick Children's Service director Emily Chatham said the shire needed to deliver on the childcare needs of the population, or it would lose families to other communities such as Ballarat.

"We fully agree with council's recommendation. They need a short-term solution, such as what council has proposed," she said.

Council will now meet with senior representatives from the Department of Education and Early Childhood Development to discuss developing a long-term strategy.

But Cr Booth said ultimately the provision of child care was a federal government responsibility.

"It is about cost shifting what is a federal government responsibility onto council," she said.

"Council sees that is has a responsibility to advocate on behalf of the community.

"It's an issue for employers as well and how they are able to attract staff and provide childcare."