Reactions to last week’s arrest of a childcare worker on charges of sexual misconduct and assault have seen a slew of responses in the sector and politically.
A national register of childcare workers is being called for by all levels of government in the wake of the charges being laid.
Premier Jacinta Allan said childcare was regulated under a national framework and that state, territory, and federal governments were currently strengthening safety in the sector in the aftermath of the allegations.
“I know that right across our state, (people) turned to one another and asked how this sort of alleged offending could ever be possible within a childcare centre,” Ms Allan said.
“Families must be able to trust that their children are safe in childcare, and I will do everything in my power to make sure they can.”
Ms Allan also said a national proposal to ban staff mobile phones and other personal devices would be brought forward in Victoria on her watch.
By Friday, 26 September, any childcare centre found to be in breach of the personal devices ban will face banning and fines of up to $50,000.
The state opposition however slammed the government for having ‘repeatedly failed’ families.
Opposition Leader Brad Battin said the government had known of significant shortcomings in Working with Children Checks and other safeguards ‘for years’ but had failed to implement meaningful reform.
Mr Battin said the Ombudsman urged the government in 2022 to strengthen Victoria’s Working with Children Check scheme.
He also said ministers from both the federal and state governments knew of the alleged offending at least five days before informing families and the broader community, further jeopardising the safety of children and community confidence in the system.
Other media outlets have reported parents notifying police of the offender having worked at places other than first reported.
“Labor was told there were gaping holes in child safety protections, and it failed to act,” Mr Battin said.
“This situation is every parent’s worst nightmare, and it is clear the Allan Labor Government has failed in its duty to do all it can to ensure the safety of children in childcare settings.”
A statement from Goodstart Early Learning Child Care headquarters in Melbourne said that last week’s news had been deeply upsetting for the families involved and that the organisation had reassured families of measures undertaken to ensure their children’s safety.
Goodstart Early Learning operates a child care centre in Euroa.
“We have worked hard in the last few days to reassure families of the measures we have in place in all our centres which keep children safe at Goodstart,” the statement said.
“Every child deserves to feel safe, be safe, and be heard, and we embed child safety into everything we do, from how we create our learning environments to how we recruit and supervise our people.”
The statemen said that all Goodstart centres followed strict policies and procedures that included line-of-sight practices during active supervision, extra pre-employment screening procedures of job applicants, and ongoing mandatory training for all staff.
Ahead of state government plans, Goodstart already enforced a ban on personal electronic devices.
“In addition, we have strict policies on how our employees take, save, or transmit photographs, images or videos of children which can only be done on Goodstart issued devices and where consent has been provided by the parent or guardian.”
Goodstart has also commenced the implementation of CCTV systems across its 653 centres to enhance safety and security, with strict privacy controls in place.
