Childcare centre fined for letting 5yo boy escape

A Brisbane childcare centre that did not notice a child was missing until his mother arrived to collect him has been ordered to pay a $12,500 fine to the state’s regulatory authority.

Staff at Busy Bees at Coorparoo, located on the corner of Harries Road and Holdsworth Street, lost track of the five-year-old for between eight and 18 minutes on February 17, 2023.

Staff did not notice he was missing until his mother arrived to collect him.

Busy Bees at Coorparoo sits across the road from the Coorparoo Square shopping centre, in Brisbane’s south.Credit: Busy Bees at Coorparoo

A centre spokesperson said the five-year-old left the centre through a fire escape door.

While he was unsupervised, the boy crossed two streets near Coorparoo Square shopping centre before he was found by members of the public along Old Cleveland Road.

It was not the first time the boy had attempted to escape the centre.

The Education Department’s Early Childhood Regulatory Authority launched an investigation into the centre’s managing organisation, Busy Bees Australia – which runs the centre under the trading name FEL Child Care Centres 3 – shortly after the incident.

The regulatory agency accused the childcare provider of failing to properly secure the facility, supervise the five-year-old, and ensure staff followed service policies.

It also accused the centre of failing to ensure records were accurately kept.

On Wednesday, Magistrate Belinda Merrin ruled Busy Bees at Coorparoo had placed the five-year-old at significant risk through mistakes made by staff and management.

She said the child had been particularly vulnerable due to his past escape attempts, and ordered the centre pay $12,500 as a fine to the Education Department.

The centre was also ordered to cover the state’s legal costs, bringing the total amount ordered by the courts to $14,605.

Busy Bees Australia said it was “deeply sorry this happened” and took full responsibility.

“The safety and wellbeing of every child in our care remains our top priority,” a spokesperson said.

“We’ve since introduced extra safeguards, including an independent centre compliance review, additional external CCTV at the centre, enhanced supervision training, and improved employee inductions with checks to ensure understanding.”

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