Childcare centres in New South Wales are facing serious scrutiny over their hiring practices after revelations emerged that numerous banned staff were allowed to continue working with children. An inquiry has highlighted significant failures in the system, endangering the safety of approximately 500,000 infants, toddlers, and pre-schoolers.
The NSW parliamentary inquiry, chaired by Abigail Boyd, has identified a troubling trend where workers prohibited from engaging with children were not adequately monitored. Internal government documents presented during the inquiry revealed that while dozens of individuals were banned each year, few checks were cancelled. For example, one educator who was banned in 2019 was approved for a new check in 2021 and continued to work with children until 2023.
Nearly half of the staff reported to the Office of the Children’s Guardian over a three-year period did not have checks that could be cancelled, according to Boyd. Rachael Ward, the Acting Children’s Guardian, acknowledged that the regulator was not required to inform childcare centres of banned staff, which has contributed to the oversight failures.
“They haven’t broken any law by not sharing that information,” Ms Ward stated. During her five months in office, she was unaware that only 21 out of 235 checks on prohibited workers had been cancelled between 2021 and 2024.
Parents were urged to report concerns directly to the police, as they may not receive a thorough response from centre directors who might have financial motives to conceal issues. Linda Howlett, commander of the NSW Police Child Abuse Squad, noted that one reported incident involved a child who suffered a broken leg, underscoring the need for vigilant reporting. Allegations of sexual offences within the childcare sector have surged by nearly 50 percent in recent years.
The nonprofit organization Body Safety Australia has raised alarms about a “growing safety crisis” in the state, where over 400,000 children are enrolled in care services. Their submission to the inquiry highlighted a 47 percent increase in sexual offence notifications to the Office of the Children’s Guardian during the 2023-2024 period. They attribute these vulnerabilities to systemic failures in training, oversight, and reporting frameworks.
In response to these alarming findings, Courtney Houssos, the Acting Early Learning Minister, announced that childcare providers failing to meet quality standards would face funding cuts. Proposed reforms include the installation of security cameras in centres, greater transparency regarding safety issues, and increased penalties for non-compliant operators.
An independent review led by former NSW deputy ombudsman Chris Wheeler in June criticized the childcare regulator for being hampered by existing laws and frameworks. The review found the regulator lacked transparency regarding its investigations compared to counterparts in Queensland and Victoria.
The inquiry occurs amid broader scrutiny of childcare regulations across Australia, following disturbing reports of children allegedly being sexually abused and subjected to unsafe conditions. G8 Education, the operator of a centre linked to allegations against educator Joshua Dale Brown, has acknowledged the emotional strain on staff navigating the fallout from these revelations. Brown is accused of abusing eight children under the age of two at a centre in Melbourne between April 2022 and January 2023.
As the inquiry progresses, it aims to address these systemic issues and implement necessary reforms to enhance the safety and well-being of children in childcare facilities across New South Wales.
