‘Children will be abused': Childcare warning the state ignored

The Age

7 days ago

But Buchanan warned in annual reports in 2023 and 2024 that each year her agency was being forced by a lack of cash to reduce the number of reports of child safety risks or offences that could be 'fulsomely examined'. In a separate submission, Buchanan also said that delays risked later referrals and led to people known to pose a risk to children to continue working with children for 'an extended period'.
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The commissioner wrote in her 2023 annual report that she had been forced to make do with the same level of funding to operate the Reportable Conduct Scheme since it began in 2017, while the number of reports soared to nearly 1500, an 81 per cent increase since the first year of the scheme.
The following year, the commission's workload ballooned again, by 30 per cent, with 1892 notifications received, nearly 570 of them substantiated.
While the former commissioner tried to warn the state Labor government of the danger posed to children, two substantiated reports against Brown alleging non-sexual physical aggression against children in his care at two centres, operated by for-profit chain G8 Education, came into the commission's system in mid-2023 and early 2024.
But no move was made to review the alleged offender's working with children check, with the commission using its discretion to not escalate the cases for further action, clearing the way for Brown to continue his work as an early childhood educator until his arrest in May.
Buchanan raised the alarm most explicitly in 2022, in a submission to a review of the Reportable Conduct Scheme, warning that child abuse would go undetected and unstopped if the scheme was not funded properly.
'Children will be abused, or continue to be abused, by a person who would have otherwise been prevented from working with children as a result of the scheme and the commission's actions,' the submission read.
The commission also warned of delays in alerting police or child protection authorities about children in need of 'protection from harm, abuse or neglect'.
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Delays at the cash-strapped commission risked later referrals to other child safety regulators, such as Working with Children Check Victoria, the submission cautioned.
'This increases the risk that people known to pose a risk to children will continue to be able to work with children for an extended period,' the submission read.
Neither the commission nor the government would disclose how much of the Commission for Children and Young People's budget was dedicated to the operation of the scheme, but the commission reiterated on Tuesday that funding had been frozen between 2017 and 2024, while Singh publicly confirmed last week the position had not changed.
Overall funding to the agency increased from $13.46 million in 2021 to $15.05 million in 2024, an 11.8 per cent increase, which fell well short of inflation over the same period.
Buchanan, who now works as assistant commissioner of the anti-corruption agency IBAC, did not respond on Tuesday to a request for comment.
Acting commissioner Singh, who also continues to work in her usual job as Commissioner for Aboriginal Children and Young People while a replacement for Buchanan is found, declined to be interviewed for this article.
Roma Britnell, children's spokesperson for the Victorian Liberals, said on Tuesday that the failure to fully fund the commission to operate the scheme represented a 'new low' for the Allan Labor government.
'Ignoring warnings from the children's watchdog and continuing to underfund a safety program designed to ensure allegations of child abuse are acted on quickly and effectively has tragically, allegedly, resulted in the commission's worst fears,' Britnell said.
A government spokesperson said the search was on for a new commissioner.