Child safety advocates call for urgent reform in NSW childcare centres

Child safety advocates have called for a national register to screen workers in NSW. It comes amid fears childcare workers accused of serious conduct are able to move from centre to centre with no tracking measures in place.

Child safety advocates have called for urgent reform in NSW childcare centres. Picture: Getty Images

Child safety advocates have called for urgent reform in NSW childcare centres amid fears that workers accused of serious inappropriate conduct are able to move from “centre to centre” with no screening measures in place to track them.

The Sunday Telegraph can reveal high-level sources with a close knowledge of issues within the early learning sector have lifted the lid on a series of shocking alleged incidents committed by early childhood workers within privately owned centres across the state.

It comes after the arrest of Victorian childcare worker, Joshua Brown, who has been charged with more than 70 alleged child abuse offences.

The sources said they were aware of “dozens” of alleged incidents in the past year where both male and female workers had acted inappropriately with children.

This included a worker accused of taking pictures of children without parental consent, staff holding expired Working with Children Checks (WWCC), centres failing to do proper background checks on employees and a litany of other concerning incidents.

“The problem with the current system is that there is very little oversight in for-profit centres, meaning that if a worker has a complaint made against them and they resign there have been instances where that (centre) has not taken the complaint to authorities,” one source said.”

“This means that they (childcare workers) can go undetected and move between multiple childcare centres.”

Adopt Change chief executive Renee Carter.

The revelations have prompted child safety advocates and industry experts to call for a national register of childcare workers which would record each worker’s qualifications, employment history and any restrictions.

This would track their movements, meaning they would be unable to move to another employer or state if they had previously raised suspicions or faced convictions.

The push for pre-employment psychological screening has also been renewed.

Adopt Change chief executive Renee Carter said children’s safety must always come first. “Right now, the lack of a national childcare worker register creates a significant gap in Australia’s child protection system,” she said.

“Establishing a single, consistent register is essential to ensure anyone working with children is properly screened and monitored across every state and territory.

“A unified approach will help close loopholes and reduce the risk of harm, making sure no child is left unprotected because of inconsistent systems.”

Danielle De Paoli, from Maurice Blackburn.

Danielle De Paoli, special counsel and head of Maurice Blackburn’s NSW abuse law practice, said she supported strengthened WWCC measures including a national childcare register and other safeguards.

PsychCheck director and forensic psychologist Luke Broomhall oversees a team of psychologists who have run thousands of checks on government and non-government employees working in residential care with children.

The company found 10 per cent of applicants were unsuitable for care roles, with 3 per cent possessing traits that mirrored “offending characteristics”.

“These are people that have been interviewed and would have been employed if not for the process we take,” Mr Broomhall said.

The process involves a 60 to 90-minute interview covering eight areas, including upbringing, a deep dive into past relationships and employment history, based on 64 risk factors associated with harmful behaviour towards children.

Mr Broomhall said the WWCC only looked at an applicant’s criminal history, but noted most sex offenders in care sectors had “no prior charges” and flew under the radar.

Premier Chris Minns committed to toughening laws last week after it was revealed more than two dozen people with links to serious crimes including child sexual offences, had obtained a WWCC by appealing to the NSW Civil and Administrative Tribunal (NCAT) since 2020.

The Sunday Telegraph has been told that in the past decade the Office of Children’s Guardian (OCG) has challenged about 10 of those decisions in the Supreme Court.

The OCG can only appeal an NCAT decision in the Supreme Court if there is an error in law, which sources say can “rarely be challenged”.

From July 1 2022 to 30 June 2024, the OCG issued 117 compliance notices and 16 fines to organisations or individuals failing to meet their obligations under WWCC laws.

In 2024-25, it issued 21 fines and 83 compliance notices.

Education Ministers last week agreed on accelerating work to develop a nationwide registration of early educators.

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Originally published as Child safety advocates call for urgent reform in NSW childcare centres