Yesterday, distressing news spread across Melbourne, leaving many parents shocked and concerned. More than 1,200 children have been asked to undergo testing for infectious diseases after a childcare worker was charged with over 70 offences. The offences are alleged to have occurred at a centre in Point Cook, with eight victims identified between April 2022 and January 2023. Detectives are still investigating and examining evidence at a second childcare centre in Essendon
The alleged offender had worked at over 20 childcare centres across Melbourne between 2017 and 2025. The Victorian Government has set up a webpage with an up-to-date list of impacted childcare centres that employed the alleged offender, along with other important and useful information for parents: https://www.vic.gov.au/childcare-centres-investigation
We understand how devastating and frightening this news must be for parents, especially those whose children may have attended one of the affected centres. Regardless of the safeguards Australia claims to have in place to protect children, this situation reveals a complete and heartbreaking failure. We will not delve into the details of this nauseating incident; instead, our focus will be on exploring and discussing effective methods to protect children from harm and prevent future victims
What are the requirements to become an educator in a childcare center?
The process is quite simple. First, you can enrol in a childcare course and obtain a First Aid certificate. Then, you’ll need to complete a Working with Children Check and a Criminal History Check. In many cases, you can begin working in a childcare service before completing the course. You can find more information on the Victoria Government website https://www.vic.gov.au/staffing-requirements-early-childhood-services
However, these checks only prevent individuals who have already been identified as unsuitable to work with children such as criminal charges. This raises an important question: can we do more to prevent potential risks? Could psychological screening or surveys serve as an additional layer of protection? Could we also conduct pre-employment health checks to help protect children from infectious diseases?
Can the Government or Regulator Track Each Educator’s Employment History?
How did this happen?
We don’t know exactly how this happened. The incident occurred in a centre-based setting, not a family daycare. In such settings, there is usually more than one educator present, and staffing is determined by the number of children attended.
According to ACECQA, in Victoria, the educator-to-child ratio for centre-based care is one educator for every four children aged between birth and 36 months. If there are fewer than four children in a room, typically only one educator is required. Full information can be found https://www.acecqa.gov.au/nqf/educator-to-child-ratios
But can one educator truly manage this? For many, it’s extremely challenging, especially with babies and toddlers. Imagine one baby needs a nappy change while another is pulling something dangerous, how can a single educator manage both situations at once? Even a parent can feel overwhelmed caring for one child. Now imagine an educator responsible for four at the same time.
Some services may install surveillance internally to help keep children safe. Can we encourage all service providers to do this? Could we use AI-powered CCTV to detect and assist educators in removing any potential risks, similar to mobile phone and seatbelt detection cameras? To protect children’s privacy, recordings could be automatically deleted after analysis, and such CCTV systems should operate only within an internal network, physically disconnected from public networks to prevent hacking and minimize risks.