Childcare rorters to be named and shamed

A register of childcare providers caught rorting taxpayer subsidies published online includes one where 74 kids were never seen.

Common forms of noncompliance at childcare centres include forging attendance reports.

A register of childcare providers caught rorting taxpayer subsidies will be published online for the first time as the Turnbull government seeks to use public shaming to strengthen sector compliance.

More than 100 childcare ser­vices, the vast majority of which are family daycare providers, will be “named and shamed” from today on the Child Care Enforcement Action Register after having their government subsidy cancelled or suspended for breaking the law.

The Coalition has stopped an estimated $1.8 billion in childcare fee assistance since early 2014 that would have otherwise gone to “unscrupulous” providers.

Education Minister Simon Birmingham said the new tool would help parents make “informed choices” when choosing a childcare service and offer “confidence that they are entrusting the care of their children to a compliant and reputable provider”.

“This register should serve as a warning to providers that if you’re non-compliant and do the wrong thing, you will be hung out to dry,” Senator Birmingham said.

“While the overwhelming majority of providers are legitimate and provide high-quality care, those who go down the wrong path should be held to account … This is about making sure the track record of childcare providers is crystal clear to families.”

A preview of the register ­reveals there have been nearly 200 cancellations, suspensions or “immediate suspensions” of government subsidies since July 1, 2016, with Victorian providers slapped with the most sanctions.

The full list of childcare rorters

Over the 2016-17 financial year and first quarter of 2017-18, there have been 75 cancellations or suspensions in Victoria, 59 in NSW, 21 in Queensland and 10 in South Australia. There were 10 sanctions against South Australian services, seven in Western Australia, five in the ACT and two in the Northern Territory.

Common forms of noncompliance include forging attendance reports and making misleading statements that result in the provider being offered childcare fee assistance they are not entitled to.

Providers have been found to overcharge for the number of staff hours or children in their care. The Australian revealed in 2016 that one family day­care centre in the ACT received $1.6 million in federal government benefits for up to 74 children that were never seen in compliance checks.

Among the most recent providers to lose government sub­sidies was Noor Family Day Care in the western Sydney suburb of Merrylands. According to the register, it gave a false statement or document and fraudulently obtained government subsidies, and was also found to have kept money from the federal government that it was not entitled to.

There were 3800 compliance checks in 2016-17 alone and the register will be updated quarterly. The Weekend Australian understands a large portion of providers on the list are believed not to be in operation after being sanctioned.

A “child swapping” loophole that allowed family daycare educators to claim subsidies to look after their own children or watch over each other’s children was closed in 2015, while the Turnbull government also set new maximum rates and age limits for children accessing childcare fee assistance at family daycare.