A Broken System: Regulatory Documents Reveal Widespread Failures in Childcare Safety

In a confronting exposé that has sent ripples through the early childhood education sector, newly released regulatory documents reveal a disturbing pattern of negligence and non-compliance in childcare services across Australia. From untrained staff and expired Working With Children Checks to unsafe sleep practices and mishandled medical emergencies, the findings expose a system that is failing to uphold its most fundamental duty: keeping children safe. 

As families entrust their youngest and most vulnerable to these services, the revelations raise urgent questions about accountability, oversight, and the true cost of cutting corners in early education.

Key Findings

• Untrained Staff: Many educators lacked basic training in first aid, child protection, asthma, and anaphylaxis.
• Unsafe Practices: Babies were placed face-down to sleep, children were left unsupervised in bathrooms and sheds, and serious injuries were not reported to families.
• Expired Checks: Staff were found working without valid Working With Children Checks.
• Poor Hygiene: Unwashed hands, expired asthma plans, and mishandled medication were common.
• Fake Certificates: Some staff submitted fraudulent training records—completing 85-minute courses in just two minutes.

Case Snapshots

• 3 Bears Centres: 363 breaches before closure in 2024. Staff treated allergic reactions with moisturiser and failed to call ambulances for serious injuries.
• Bright Achievers & Squiggler Academy: No child protection training, poor hygiene, and expired asthma plans.
• Shepherd Early Learning: Children found face-down in hooded jumpers; hazardous materials accessible.
• Strawberry Fields (NSW): A child was locked in a shed; another nearly strangled by a dummy chain.
• G8 Education: A child left unsupervised in a rainwater trough. The company is still under investigation for underpaying 27,000 workers.

Expert Voices

“Unless approved providers are held accountable—and most of them never even set foot in a service—nothing will change.” — Regulatory insider

“We are letting our children down. If you judge a society by the way we treat our children, we ought to be ashamed.” — Lynette Rieck, veteran educator and trainer

 Root Causes

• Fast-tracked childcare courses and fake qualifications
• Use of the sector as a migration pathway
• Weak regulatory enforcement
• Private operators prioritizing profit over safety

 What Can Be Done

This report underscores the urgent need for:

• Stronger enforcement of training and safety standards
• Transparent accountability for approved providers
• Sector-wide investment in educator development and safeguarding

Further Reading 

Unqualified and Unprepared Students Passing Qualifications Regardless of Competence

Reference:
Documents reveal childcare workers without knowledge or training to keep kids safe