Federal Education Minister Jason Clare launches compliance action against 30 childcare centres
Education Minister Jason Clare, speaking on Friday, said the 30 centres had failed to meet National Quality Standards and he would withdraw funding from them if they did not lift their performance over the next six months.
'We have taken action swiftly under the new legislation to begin rebuilding confidence in a system that parents need to have confidence in,' he said.
'This is not about closing centres down, it's about lifting standards up.
'Over the next six months, these centres will need to lift their game or they will face further consequences including the cutting off of funding.'
The centres, which have not been named, now have 48 hours to notify parents of the action.
Not meeting quality and safety standards can include failures to provide for play area safety, hygiene, staff training or supervision.
The compliance blitz follows the passage of legislation through federal parliament last month giving the government the power to strip funding from centres that fail to meet basic standards.
Education Minister Jason Clare has threatened to cut off funding from 30 childcare centres. Picture: NewsWire / Martin Ollman
Centres can also be stripped of their childcare subsidy approval.
Early Childhood Education Minister Jess Walsh said the government would put the 'safety and wellbeing' of children 'first and foremost'.
'Today's action should signal to all early childhood education and care providers that the National Quality Standards are not optional and that all services must be up to scratch,' she said.
The country is reeling from multiple allegations of shocking and widespread failures in child safety across the sector.
On July 1, Victoria Police announced horrific child sex abuse allegations against child care worker Joshua Dale Brown, alleging he had offended against eight children while working for the Creative Gardens Point Cook centre between October 2021 and February 2024.
Mr Brown worked in at least 23 centres across Victoria between January 2017 and May 2025 and he held a valid Working With Children Check (WWCC).
Later that month, it was revealed the Australian Federal Police had charged David William James with abusing children at six after-school care centres between 2021 and 2024.
Alleged child sex abuser Joshua Brown worked at several centres over between 2017 and 2025. Picture Supplied.
Dramatic reforms are now expected for the sector.
On Friday, state and federal attorney-generals met to discuss how to toughen up safety.
Attorney-General Michelle Rowland has promised a 'banned in one, banned in all' system – in which a person banned from holding a WWCC in one state cannot obtain one in another.
Under the changes, criminal histories will be updated and shared in real time between jurisdictions and the criteria that determines who is able to obtain a WWCC will be strengthened.
'It is notable that nefarious individuals have been shopping around the working with children check system and exploiting loopholes,' Ms Rowland said.
Ms Rowland said the new national system would be operational by the end of the year.
Both the Victorian and NSW governments have also pledged to ban personal mobile devices from centres.
Major providers, including G8 Education and Affinity, have pledged to install CCTV into their centres.
Duncan Evans
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Duncan Evans is a reporter for News Corp's NewsWire service, based in Adelaide. Before NewsWire, he worked as a resources and politics reporter for The Daily Mercury in Mackay, Queensland and as a reporter at CQ Today, an independent newspaper based in Rockhampton. He was raised in Emerald and Brisbane and studied English Literature and American Studies at the University of Sydney. He began his career in journalism working for the Jakarta Post in Indonesia for over two years as an editor, translator and writer. He is fluent in Indonesian.
@Duncanevans01
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- ABC News
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They gather in a quiet Perth neighbourhood, wearing matching purple polo shirts and lanyards identifying them as "Common Law Sheriff" and "Guardian of the Law". These sheriffs, who look like someone's neighbour, are sworn to enforce the laws of their court. A court that has "convicted" a prime minister, "sentenced" premiers, and "ruled" on a child protection case. But this court has no legal authority, it's run by the Sovereign Peoples Assembly of Western Australia (SPAWA). The sheriffs seem cautious. Wary of being dismissed as a cult, they've never spoken to mainstream media before. Their spiritual guide, crown Leith Masters, speaks with meditative conviction, describing their organisation as, "The gathering of people to enact law". "[The government] is not the authority, it's the public servant. We're the authority, the people are the authority, working in law," she says. 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ABC News
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News.com.au
9 hours ago
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Man killed, another fighting for life after alleged shooting at pub in Forest Lodge
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