‘Big weapon’: Funding cut threat to end childcare abuse

Childcare centres will have their funding cut off if they do not meet standards under a series of tough new measures to be introduced. Here’s what the changes mean for your family.

Education Minister Jason Clare plans to create a national database of childcare workers that will hold a record of their employment history.

He also said legislation would be introduced next week that will cut off funding to childcare centres that do not meet standards.

It comes after Victorian police revealed that a further 800 children may have to undergo STI tests after four extra childcare centres were revealed as locations where Joshua Dale Brown had worked.

Brown, 26, is facing more than 70 offences, including child rape and possession of child abuse material.

He is believed to have worked at 23 childcare centres between January 2017 and May 2025.

“This highlights an example of why you need a database or a register so you know where all childcare workers are and where they’re moving from centre to centre,” Mr Clare told Sunrise.

Joshua Dale Brown, 26, is facing more than 70 offences, including child rape and possession of child abuse material. Picture Supplied.

“That’s one of the things that we need to do. (I’ll) introduce legislation next week that will cut off funding to childcare centres that aren’t up to scratch (and) aren’t meeting the sort of safety standards that parents expect and that our kids deserve.”

Mr Clare said a system was needed to ensure authorities know which centres childcare centres employees have worked at.

He said: “You should be able to press a button and know exactly where (Joshua Dale Brown) was and when he was working.

“We should have a system that tells us where all workers are and in which centres they’re working at, whether they’re crossing individual borders.”

Mr Clare said if the legislation works, it won’t mean centres will shut down — it will mean standards are raised.

Education Minister Jason Clare: Picture: Jason Edwards / NewsWire

“The really big weapon that we have to wield here is money. We spend $16 billion of taxpayers’ money on running childcare centres across the country.

“They can’t run without this funding. It represents about 70 per cent of the funding to operate a childcare centre.

“So the threat is unless you get up to that standard, we cut the funding off. I think, if we get this right, what it will quickly raise their standards to provide the sort of quality and safety that our kids need deserve.”

Mr Clare said it was a “tough” time for men working in childcare centres, saying they probably feel like they have a “target on their back”.

“All the recommendations here are not about targeting the blokes per se ... It’s about the sort of things we’re talking about this morning,” he said.

“Training up our workers to identify bad people in our centres. It’s about national register to track people across the country and across the system.

“It’s also about making the penalties real if childcare centres fail, they’re not real at the moment. And also, better information to the parents.

“You should be able to walk to the centre today and there’s a sign at the front door to tell you whether that centre up is to scratch.”

In a bid to prevent further offending and protect Aussie children, centres around the country are clamping down on their safety procedures. Here’s what they’re doing.

G8 EDUCATION

G8 operates more than 400 centres across the country (NSW, Victoria, Queensland, South Australia, WA), with the Point Cook facility at the centre of the allegations.

Managing Director and CEO Pejman Okhovat said the G8 Education team was appalled by the allegations and that the centre would rollout additional safety measures in addition to its current safeguards to protect children.

“Our primary focus right now is on supporting all families who are impacted, as well as our team members in Victoria. My team and I have met personally with families in Victoria and will continue to be available. We have also provided confidential counselling and support through G8 Education’s dedicated provider,” Mr Okhovat said.

“We are continuing to work with Victoria Police, the Victorian government and other authorities as part of their ongoing investigation and are doing everything we can to give them the best chance of achieving justice for the children and families involved.”

G8 Education operates more than 400 centres across the country.

What they’re doing:

• Rollout CCTV to all centres following a trial in several G8 Education centres.
• Expand individual learning plans (ILPs) to give parents greater choice over their child’s care.
• ILPs will now provide preferences on who supports their child’s personal care routines, including nappy changes and toileting.
• Following the conclusion of the police investigation and criminal proceedings, G8 Education will commission an independent review into the incident to inform further changes and improvements to child safety procedures.

For more information about G8 Education’s safety response, read their full statement here.

INSPIRE EARLY LEARNING

In the wake of the alleged childcare horror, Inspire Early Learning – which operates 16 childcare centres in Victoria under G8 Education – said it would ban male educators from changing nappies and toileting duties.

Chief curriculum and quality officer Eleinna Anderson told families the changes were to ensure they remained “sensitive and responsive to family needs”, and that male staff would still play a “vital role” in activities and classroom preparation among other duties.

“The wellbeing and safety of your children are at the heart of everything we do,” she said.

What else they’re doing:

• Educators have also reportedly been told to refrain from kissing or having other unnecessary contact with children, and to seek consent if holding hands or a gentle hug is needed.
  

The childcare operator’s full response can be found here.

Goodstart Early Learning operates 658 centres across seven states.

GOODSTART EARLY LEARNING

Operating 658 centres across seven states, spokesperson Wendy George said Goodstart Early Learning was working with each respective state government.

Since 2022, the education group has had a detailed suite of safeguards in place, such as testing CCTV.

Current safety protocols:

• Active supervision and line of sight practices such as additional staffing in nursery rooms.
• Educators are expected to work closely together to ensure they are in line of sight or in hearing of each other.
• Educators must avoid taking children to offices, staff rooms, ancillary areas, or any location without visibility to other staff.
• Rigorous recruitment processes: thorough pre-employment screening, including a minimum of two referees (with at least one being a direct supervisor of the candidate in the last 18 months) and current working with children checks, and prohibited persons checks before commencement.
• Personal devices banned in Goodstart Early Learning centres from March 2025.

More information about Goodstart Early Learning’s safety measures can be found here.

Affinity Education.

AFFINITY EDUCATION

Affinity CEO Tim Hickey said the operator was “deeply distressed” by the nature of the charges laid against Brown, who had worked in Affinity centres.

He said he would welcome any recommended changes that improves safety across all 255 Affinity Education centres in NSW, Victoria, Queensland, WA and Northern Territory.

“We are committed to supporting every family impacted and will continue to co-operate fully with the authorities as the investigation continues,” Mr Hickey said.

“We also welcome any review of regulation that strengthens safeguards, enhances accountability, and ensures the highest standards of safety and care for every child.

“Our educators and staff share the deep concern over failings when they occur in the early childhood education and care sector. The safety, wellbeing, and development of every child must always come first.”

What they’re changing in addition to current safeguards:

• Fast-tracking the installation of CCTV.
• Seeking parental preference regarding who assists their child with toileting or nappy changes.
• Rolling out personal device lock boxes nationally.
• Refresher mandatory training for every Affinity employee across Australia on child safety policies, practices and legal obligations.
• Reviewing centre layouts to identify and rectify blind spots.

More information about Affinity Education’s response can be found here.

Guardian Childcare.

GUARDIAN CHILDCARE & EDUCATION

Guardian Childcare and Education chief Warren Bright reinforced its safety protocols across its 170 centres in NSW, Victoria, Queensland and South Australia, following the Melbourne arrests.

What are its current safeguards:

• Employment screening for every candidate.
• Leaders and key Support Office team members also require a current Police Check.
• Each year, every team member must complete a Suitability Declaration confirming they remain fit to work with children.

Check out the rest of the operator’s safety measures here.

Busy Bees operates 99 centres across five states in Australia.

BUSY BEES

Busy Bees, which operates 99 centres across five states in Australia and 947 globally, prides itself on a robust recruitment process to protect children.

It consists of pre-screening reference checks, tailored behavioural interview questions, national Police Checks, as well as working with children/vulnerable people checks.

What else is Busy Bees doing to protect children:

• All employees are required to hold a valid working with children/vulnerable people check.
• Validation of all employee cards must be completed no less than three monthly.
• Child protection expectations are outlined during on-boarding and expanded with ongoing training.
• A Designated Safeguarding Lead (DSL) is named for each service where the DSL takes responsibility for the safeguarding, welfare, and child protection of children.

A full list of Busy Bees’ safety measures can be found here.

Only About Children operates more than 80 centres across NSW, Victoria and Queensland.

ONLY ABOUT CHILDREN

Only About Children, which operates more than 80 centres across NSW, Victoria and Queensland, said it was doing everything it could to prevent child abuse such as physical, emotional, sexual, or neglect through its safety measures.

These include the encouragement of vigilance to recognise any wrong behaviours, practices and interactions with children, as well as implementing immediate action to respond to any suspicion that a child has been harmed or is at risk of harm.

More information about Only About Children’s safety strategy can be found here.

The KU Children’s Services operates in NSW and Victoria.

KU CHILDREN’S SERVICES

Christine Legg, the chief executive of KU Children’s Services – which operates 140 centres across NSW and Victoria – said they ensure two staff are with children at all times, among other rigorous safety measures.

She said the childcare operator has a strong reporting culture where staff are instructed to intervene immediately if needed and children are encouraged to speak up if they are not feeling safe.

She also said the operator’s child safe team was proactive with supporting staff, carrying out investigations, and providing training.

More information about KU Children’s Services safety strategy can be found here.

SEPTEMBER 1 CHANGES COMING

Stronger, mandatory child safety measures have been signed off by every Australian Education Minister to strengthen child safety in early childhood education and care services.

From September 1, 2025:

*Mandatory 24 hour reporting of any allegations, complaints or incidents of physical or sexual abuse – down from the current 7 day window

*A ban on vapes in all early education and care services

*Stronger protections around digital technology use, with services required to have clear policies on taking photos and videos of children, parent consent, CCTV practice and using service-issued devices.

*Child safety will also be explicitly embedded into the National Quality Standard from January 1, 2026.

ACECQA will issue new guidance and resource materials to support the early education sector implement these changes.

These changes are in addition to the further reforms flagged in March this year which include:

*Prevent providers who persistently fail to meet minimum standards and repetitively breach the National Law from opening new Child Care Subsidy approved services.

*Take compliance action against existing providers with egregious and continued breaches, including the option to cut off access to Child Care Subsidy funding where appropriate.

Strengthen powers to deal with providers that pose an integrity risk.

Originally published as ‘Big weapon’: Funding cut threat to end childcare abuse