Copyright abc
The NSW childcare regulator has taken no enforcement action in well over half the cases it investigated involving childcare workers accused of the sexual or physical abuse of a child, the ABC can reveal. An analysis of data obtained under Freedom of Information shows that over the past five years, roughly 70 per cent of investigations into allegations of child sexual or physical abuse at a childcare centre in NSW resulted in "no further action". The released figures also detail for the first time how many reports of abuse have been made to the primary childcare regulator — the NSW Education Department's Early Childhood Education and Care Regulatory Authority (ECEC Regulatory Authority) — by childcare centres since 2020. In the last five years, 1,856 allegations of child sexual or physical abuse were lodged by a childcare provider about a staff member, including over 400 reports last year. But despite increasing rates of reporting, few investigations are resulting in strong action by the regulator. Since 2020, the ECEC Regulatory Authority decided to take "statutory compliance action" — its strongest available power — in 180 cases, roughly 10 per cent of alleged sexual or physical abuse incidents. This action can involve a worker being prohibited from the sector, or centres being fined or having their provider licence cancelled. "Administrative compliance action" was taken in a further 13 per cent of cases, which included monitoring, meetings, warning letters or cautions. Of the 414 reports of child sexual or physical abuse made last year, data from another childcare regulator, the Office of the Children's Guardian (OCG) suggests roughly 60 relate to a sexual offence or sexual misconduct. A spokesperson for the NSW ECEC Regulatory Authority said it investigated every allegation thoroughly. "Where allegations are substantiated or there is an unacceptable risk to children, the regulatory authority will not hesitate to act to protect children's health, safety and wellbeing, including by prohibiting individuals from the sector, suspending or cancelling service approvals or taking legal action where necessary," the spokesperson said. The authority has prosecuted 37 people and prohibited more than 200 from working in the sector since 2021. Information sharing argy-bargy However, issues with information sharing between the ECEC Regulatory Authority and the OCG, has resulted in at least one educator continuing to work despite being banned from the industry. A document tendered to a recent NSW parliamentary inquiry showed one childcare worker was prohibited from the sector in 2019 by the Department of Education's regulatory team, only to be later cleared for a new Working with Children Check (WWCC) by the OCG, which allowed him to continue working as a casual at four separate centres in Sydney's north until 2023. Two former state government officials who had oversight of child care told the ABC information sharing between the two industry regulators was a significant problem. The primary regulator is the Department of Education, which oversees the state's 6,000 childcare and outside school hours care services. However, the OCG handles all WWCCs — an important safeguard which prevents predators from working in the industry. The OCG is the body that can place a bar on an individual's WWCCs, but one official said sometimes staff are not informed a worker was being investigated. For years there has been argy-bargy between the two agencies over what information is passed to the OCG and how quickly. There has also been issues sharing information internally within the OCG. One former bureaucrat told the ABC a confusing legal directive meant teams were unclear on whether they could pass details about a potential high-risk offender to their colleagues who run the WWCCs. In 2024, the dispute around the timely sharing of information between the ECEC Regulatory Authority, OCG and police became so vexed, the head of NSW Police's Child Abuse Squad, Linda Howlett, intervened. Detective Superintendent Howlett helped negotiate a memorandum of understanding between the three government agencies, outlining who would tell who what, and when. It is yet to be finalised. The OCG's chaotic, dysfunctional workplace culture was also recently highlighted in a separate inquiry, which led to the head of the authority being ousted over an alleged undisclosed conflict of interest. "Child protection has so many silos," one former government official said. "Information sharing has always been a problem, particularly in child care, where there's a blurring of roles between the two regulators. "After these horrendous offenders have done the damage, you can piece it together and each agency had enough there from the beginning to arrest him and stop him in his tracks." Four Corners has identified almost 150 childcare workers convicted, charged, or accused of sexual abuse and inappropriate conduct, including five in NSW currently before the courts. More than 5,300 people were on the state's child sex offender register as of July 2024.
