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Horrified Aussie father raises the alarm about an unthinkable form of abuse in childcare centres that's being 'swept under the rug' READ MORE: Urgent warning to Aussie parents By NICHOLAS WILSON, NEWS REPORTER, AUSTRALIA Published: 13:37 GMT, 30 October 2025 | Updated: 13:37 GMT, 30 October 2025 An Australian father has spoken out after his son was sexually abused by another child at daycare when the two were left unsupervised. Matthew, who cannot be identified for legal reasons, recalled the day his four-year-old son returned home from childcare with no underwear and blood in his shorts. 'You have so many emotions, anger and sadness and failure,' he told ABC's 7.30. The broadcaster looked at thousands of industry documents as part of a months-long investigation into abuse in the childcare sector and claimed child-on-child abuse was shockingly prevalent and likely underreported. In Matthew's case, he and his wife rushed their boy to hospital where doctors confirmed he had suffered a two-centimetre anal tear from being penetrated. The childcare centre confirmed to the family that another four-year-old boy had assaulted their son. 'We had to pull our kids out immediately because they weren't safe. We send our kids to a childcare centre and you take this gamble and you make this assumption that they're going to be safe and they're going to be okay,' Matthew said. The family has been unsuccessfully trying to get further answers from the centre for months as to why the children had been left alone. Devastated father Matthew (pictured) recalled the day he found out his four-year-old son had been abused by another student at child care Matthew said child-on-child abuse is an 'unspoken horror' plaguing the child care sector Matthew said the business should have had policies in place that would prevent such an incident form happening and that they had 'dropped the ball'. 'You've got to ask yourself what else is happening?' Matthew said he attempted to warn other parents at the childcare centre that the business hadn't taken his concerns seriously, and then police visited his home. The family's doorbell camera captured the conversation between Matthew and the police officers. In it, an unidentified officer appeared to downplay the seriousness of the incident. 'We have viewed it now and I'm not going to make you guys sound like you're over the top - I know that you're concerned and it's your son - but this is very normal.' Matthew replied: 'Having my son with a two-centimetre anal tear is normal?' Recalling the conversation, Matthew said to 'have everything just swept under the rug and the police come in and tell you its normal... there's failures everywhere'. An ABC investigation has found paperwork detailing more than one hundred instances of child-on-child sexual abuse, the majority occurring at profit-making centres (stock) Daycare centre makes a dramatic move after TWO female staff accused of assaulting children Matthew is one of several parents ABC Investigations has spoken with as part of its inquiries into the often-overlooked problem. More than 100 childcare centres have reported 118 incidents of 'harmful' child-on-child sexual abuse, NSW regulatory documents reportedly show. The vast majority of reported cases occurred in centres run by for-profit providers, often involving an element of under-supervision. Among the worrying incidents reported was a young boy who had sexually assaulted a young girl at knife-point. There have been calls for major reforms and tighter regulations in the childcare sector across the states and territories after recent highly-publicised cases of abuse. A NSW parliamentary inquiry is investigating the state's centre's after an earlier ABC investigation exposed widespread safety breaches. While the Victorian government has released its own 'rapid review' in August after more than 70 charges of child abuse were laid against former Melbourne childcare worker Joshua Dale Brown in July. The federal government has since given itself broader powers to pull funding from providers who breach quality and safety standards. Federal Education Minister Jason Clare said the measure was designed to 'raise standards' rather than 'shut down centres'. Many experts have called for more proactive measures to protect against wrongdoing before it occurs. Share or comment on this article: Horrified Aussie father raises the alarm about an unthinkable form of abuse in childcare centres that's being 'swept under the rug
