Childcare Abuse Detailed As MPs Demand “Significant Clean-Up”

Graphic stories of abuse perpetrated against babies and toddlers in childcare centres across the country have been detailed in a set of internal regulatory documents released following a parliamentary order.

Sighted by the Sydney Morning Herald, these accounts include workers forcing a child to drink medicine from a paint cup, and using a child’s body to mop up vomit.

The latter incident occurred at Milestones Early Learning in Raby on November 3, 2023. An enforcement notice from the state regulatory detailed the child, who was under two years old, was picked up by the childcare worker, who then moved them from side to side so their bottom cleaned the vomit from the floor.

The worker then “forcefully” handled the child to remove their pants and pulled them from their legs so they fell from their hands and knees, before using the soiled pants to wipe the child’s face.

A spokesperson from the group that owns the centre, Affinity Education, confirmed the worker was stood down immediately and that the organisation had self-reported the incident.

“Affinity has a zero-tolerance approach to any form of child harm and will dismiss employees found to be in breach of this safeguard, as well as engage with external agencies up to and including police where required,” they said.

The worker, who was on probation, claimed she was unaware of CCTV cameras in the room, claimed she wasn’t aware of what she was doing at the time, and said she hoped she could still hold her position as room leader.

Although the woman was terminated from her position, she appealed her probation order in New South Wales Civil and Administrative Tribunal, claiming financial distress. The agency agreed the woman could continue to work in childcare after completing a respectful relationship education course and seeking a mentor.

MPs demand change

Greens MP Abigail Boyd has criticised the sector regulator, with parliamentary data showing 70 breaches between 2020 and 2024 that weren’t pursued as prosecutions. Those that did incur penalties weren’t any higher than $2000.

“The NSW regulator has shown itself to have no teeth, let alone a bite. The persistent light touch approach by the regulator towards behaviour that would rightly horrify members of the public shows a regulatory culture wildly out of step with public expectations … they have failed to act appropriately in response to so many incidents that the average person would be horrified by,” the Greens MP said.

“Just how bad do things need to get before the regulator acts in any meaningful way? Children live with the consequences of this bad behaviour forever, yet these private operators get to walk away unscathed.”

Speaking in parliament on Tuesday, Deputy Premier and Minister for Education and Early Learning Prue Car said the sector required a “significant clean-up”.

Boyd is currently chairing a state inquiry into the early childcare sector, with submissions open to the public until June 15.

“The more I look into early childhood education in NSW, the more shocked I am,” she wrote on Instagram. “These aren’t one-offs, they’re just business as usual for a sector in which it is far too easy to get away with breaching the rules and even the most horrific incidents of child abuse and neglect.”