“We Are Not Going to Let Monsters Lurk in Centres”: Queensland’s Childcare Reckoning Demands National Action

The sector is reeling. Again. This week, Queensland authorities confirmed two separate cases of workers with known child harm risks employed at childcare centres—one a young male charged with indecent treatment of a child, the other a convicted sex offender maintaining grounds at his wife’s service. These are not isolated failures. They represent systemic cracks that now gape wide open.

And Queensland is finally acting.

Premier David Crisafulli has declared the state must become the nation’s leader in child safety. It's a promise laced with urgency and grief. A Commission of Inquiry launches next week, tasked with a full review of the child safety system, while interim reforms aim to shore up immediate protections:

• A new reportable conduct scheme, fast-tracked to launch in July next year, will compel organisations to report and investigate concerns of harm.
• The Blue Card system is under active review, using the case of paedophile Ashley Paul Griffith to expose and address flaws.
• Federal reforms will allow funding to be revoked from centres that flout safety regulations—placing teeth behind oversight, with childcare centres reliant on public money for 70% of operational costs.

Education Minister Jason Clare has backed a national childcare worker database, insisting “the company responsible should know [a person’s history] at the click of a button. But so should we.”

This is the most promising momentum for reform in a generation. But reform is not rhetoric. It’s rooted in accountability infrastructure—whistleblower protections, transparent databases, safeguarding policies with real consequences, and leadership unafraid to confront uncomfortable truths.

The sector must stop asking, “How did this happen again?”

And start demanding, “What will prevent it from happening ever again?”

Further Reading 

800 More Children to Be Tested
Sydney Educators Charged Over Alleged Toddler Assault
Queensland Sets National Benchmark for Childcare Safety Reform
Affinity Follows G8 Footsteps With CCTV Cameras
“Kindy Cops” and Cameras: Federal Crackdown on Childcare Safety
Over 10,000 Early Childhood Education and Care Qualifications Revoked

Reference:
Queensland Premier Commits To State Becoming 'Nation Leader' In Child Safety