NewsBite

Melbourne childcare crisis

Advertisement
Joshua Dale Brown

The red flags childcare regulators may have missed in the Joshua Brown case

The rise of for-profit chains means the government now has to hunt “bad faith” providers through a complicated chain of company names, an inquiry has heard.

  • Sherryn Groch

Latest

Childcare worker Joshua Brown has been charged with another 83 offences.

Accused childcare paedophile charged with abusing more kids at more centres

Joshua Brown is now accused of abusing children from his very first job in childcare, as the police case against the 27-year-old widens to four centres.

  • Sherryn Groch, Carla Jaeger and Cassandra Morgan
Childcare authorities took no action against a woman who left a little girl alone at her daycare, where she was repeatedly raped.

A little girl was repeatedly raped at family daycare. Her mother says regulators took no action

A home-based daycare worker kept her Working with Children Check after her husband was arrested for sexually abusing a seven-year-old girl who was left unsupervised in their house.

  • Carla Jaeger
Victorian Disability Minister Lizzie Blandthorn.

Allan government postpones key child safety reform in row over disability watchdogs

Child safety reforms for Working with Children Checks have been pushed back after the Allan government was forced delay a bill combining them with controversial mergers of disability watchdogs.

  • Kieran Rooney and Grant McArthur
Unregulated childcare centres pose a risk to families.

More than 700 allegations of child abuse in childcare sector last year

A new report by the state’s children commissioner shows the number of abuse cases referred to the agency from early childhood services has soared by 32 per cent since 2023-24.

  • Nicole Precel, Kieran Rooney and Caroline Schelle
Michael Simon Wilson has been accused of child sex offences.

Accused rapist who led police to alleged paedophile Joshua Brown hit with new charges

Michael Wilson has been charged in a separate case with multiple counts of rape, stalking and unlawful imprisonment.

  • Carla Jaeger and Sherryn Groch
Advertisement
Tim Hickey has stood down as Affinity CEO.

Top bosses of scandal-ridden childcare giant step down

The childcare chain, which employed accused paedophile Joshua Brown, will see its CEO depart immediately, and the federal education minister has lashed the company’s handling of the case.

  • Carla Jaeger and Sherryn Groch
Much of the legislation connected to the state government’s commitments to improve childcare safety is scheduled to reach parliament this month.

Children cannot advocate for themselves, so we must

As alarming cases of mistreatment and neglect in the childcare sector continue to emerge, we must remember children are the ones who need protection, not the reputations of the regulator, the government or rogue operators.

  • The Age's View
Papilio Early Learning Centre in Essendon.

Childcare giant at centre of Joshua Brown investigation ignored inappropriate touching complaint

Affinity Education withheld crucial information concerning two children cared for by accused paedophile Joshua Brown at an Essendon daycare.

  • Carla Jaeger
Blackmarket childcare operators tout their services through social media and messaging services and can pose a risk to families.

How black market childcare reaches migrant communities, the unvaccinated and the desperate

The cottage industry poses serious threats to children but is popular as it provides low-cost, no-paperwork childcare for some families.

  • Nicole Precel

Original URL: https://www.watoday.com.au/topic/melbourne-childcare-crisis-6hrh