A Deepening Childcare Crisis in Australia
Australia is facing a growing childcare crisis, with alarming reports revealing that children are being placed in the care of staff who lack basic training in first aid, child protection, and hygiene practices. These failures have led to serious injuries and even posed suffocation risks, according to documents obtained by 7.30.
Experts point to several factors contributing to this crisis, including substandard training programs, lax regulation, and the rapid expansion of private operators prioritizing profits over safety. The situation has sparked widespread concern and calls for urgent reform.
The Scale of the Problem
An ABC investigation uncovered that thousands of students are enrolling in fast-tracked childcare courses, some even buying fake qualifications or using the sector as a pathway to permanent residency. Regulatory documents seen by 7.30 show a consistent pattern of issues across childcare centres: educators lacking the necessary knowledge to keep children safe.
Key issues identified include:
- Educators failing to follow safe-sleep guidelines, such as placing babies face-down or wrapping them unsafely.
- Children left unattended in bathrooms and outdoor areas.
- Injuries and serious incidents not reported to families, despite mandatory reporting laws.
- Staff without child protection training, unable to recognize signs of harm or know whom to report it to.
- Staff with expired or missing Working With Children Checks.
- Poor understanding of hygiene and health, including unwashed hands, expired asthma plans, and mishandled medication.
- Educators falling asleep during their shifts.
A regulatory insider, who has visited numerous childcare centres, noted that many educators do not understand the basic rules for keeping children safe. “There are no real consequences for services that breach [safety standards],” the official said, speaking on the condition of anonymity. “They get a letter, make a few changes on paper, and we close the case. It doesn’t change anything.”
High-Profile Cases and Public Outcry
The crisis was brought into the national spotlight following the arrest of Joshua Dale Brown, a Melbourne childcare worker charged with over 70 child abuse offences, including against infants as young as five months old. Brown worked at 20 different centres, all for-profit, including those run by major companies like Affinity Education, G8 Education, and Only About Children.
His case follows a series of investigations by the ABC, including Four Corners’ ‘Betrayal of Trust,’ which highlighted abuse, cover-ups, and a regulatory system failing to protect children. Despite government reforms, the crisis remains far from resolved.
Damning Cases Exposed
One particularly troubling case involved 3 Bears, a private operator run by Dinh Trang, which operated three centres before being shut down in 2024. Over a decade, the service accumulated 363 breaches, including inadequate knowledge of child protection laws, poor health and hygiene practices, and inappropriate educator interactions with children.
In July 2023, regulators asked for proof that staff had completed safe-sleep training. One educator had completed the full 85-minute course, while two submitted certificates showing it was done in just two minutes. Others hadn’t done it at all. The consequences soon became evident when a child suffered a serious knee injury requiring specialist surgery. Staff treated the injury by telling the child to elevate their leg—no first aid, no ambulance.
In February 2024, a child with known dairy and nut allergies had a severe reaction, but educators treated it by applying moisturiser for dry skin.
Other Problematic Centres
At Bright Achievers, regulators found staff lacked evidence of child protection training, failed to follow hygiene practices, and had no systems in place to manage food safety. At Squiggler Academy, compliance reports showed children eating without washing their hands and educators failing to prompt them. Medication logs were incomplete, and one child’s asthma plan had expired.
At Shepherd Early Learning in Mays Hill, an emergency action notice revealed several issues, including toddlers found lying face-down with hooded jumpers on. A can of Glen 20 was stored in a cupboard accessible to children, and an electrical outlet in the cot room was uncovered.
At Strawberry Fields Early Learning Centre in Kanwal, NSW, a compliance notice listed issues relating to safe-sleep, including a child put to sleep with a dummy chain wrapped around their neck. Another incident involved a child locked in a shed and left unsupervised.
G8 Education, which posted a net profit of over $67 million last year, admitted in 2020 to underpaying 27,000 workers by up to $80 million. The case is still under investigation.
Calls for Accountability
NSW Greens MP Abigail Boyd, who secured a parliamentary order to release the documents, described the situation as deeply concerning. “It paints a picture of a sector where when terrible things happen, it’s easily traced back to people who just don’t know what they’re doing,” she said.
Veteran childcare worker Lynette Rieck expressed similar concerns, stating, “The elderly and children are the most vulnerable members of our society and we are letting our children down.” She emphasized that if a society is judged by how it treats its children, Australia should be ashamed.
The crisis continues to demand urgent attention and systemic change to ensure the safety and well-being of children across the country.
