G8 Education apologises as it rolls out CCTV and gives parents choice of staff in childcare centres
Australia’s biggest private childcare chain G8 Education has apologised to parents for the ‘unimaginable pain’ over child abuse allegations.
G8 Education will give parents the right to choose which staff member changes children’s nappies, after apologising on Tuesday for the “unimaginable pain’’ caused by the arrest of a former employee, Joshua Dale Brown, for allegedly abusing eight babies and toddlers.
In a statement to the Australian Stock Exchange, G8 Education chief executive Pejman Okhovat – who was paid $1.53m last year – said his team was “horrified and appalled by the distressing nature of the allegations’’.
More than 1200 children are being tested for sexually transmitted diseases after the arrest of 26-year-old Brown on 70 charges of alleged child sexual abuse at G8’s the Creative Garden Early Learning Centre at Point Cook in Melbourne between April 2022 and January 2023.
G8 owns four of the 20 childcare centres where Brown is known to have worked, and the company has lost at least $120m in value since news broke last week of the arrest.
Mr Okhovat said he and his management team had met personally with families in Victoria.
“These allegations are deeply disturbing, and our hearts go out to the children and families involved,’’ he said in a statement to the ASX, which was authorised by the board of directors. “I am deeply sorry for the unimaginable pain caused to our families and what they are going through.
“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’s market update said the company had already banned staff from using personal mobile phones at work – a ban that will be mandated by governments only in September.
It said CCTV cameras had been trialled already “and we will accelerate the rollout of CCTV to all our centres’’.
Goodstart Early Learning, the nation’s biggest not-for-profit childcare organisation, announced CCTV use in all centres last week.
The market update said G8 Education would expand “individual learning plans to give parents greater choice over their child’s care. (Plans) will now provide parents with the opportunity to provide preferences on who supports their child’s personal care routines, including nappy changes and toileting.
“Following conclusion of the police investigation and criminal proceedings, G8 Education will commission an independent review to inform further changes and improvements to our child safety procedures within the organisation.”
G8 Education used its market update to call for a national registry to check the criminal background of anyone working with vulnerable people, including in childcare, aged care and the NDIS. It demanded a national registration system of teachers, as well as other childcare educators who have a certificate or diploma qualification.
It also sought a national register showing the employment history of everyone working in childcare.
G8 Education recorded a $67.7m net profit last year.
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