‘Quick solutions’ not the answer to childcare worker’s alleged sexual abuse

The union for teachers in early childhood education and care has warned against rushed solutions to combat the “distressing” allegations of a worker’s alleged sexual abuse.

Recently, alarming revelations were brought forward by the Victorian Police involving 70 offences, including allegations of sexual assault and producing child abuse material against a former childcare worker.

Joshua Dale Brown was arrested by the Sexual Crimes Squad in relation to alleged sexual offending against eight children under his care between April 2022 and January 2023.

The allegations include sexual penetration of a child, contaminating goods to cause alarm, and producing child abuse material. Due to the allegations, health authorities recommended that the 1,200 children connected to the case be tested for potential diseases.

“I will say from the outset that this is an incredibly distressing investigation, and the information we are going to provide today is particularly confronting as it involved offences [allegedly] committed against some of our vulnerable people in our community,” said Deputy Commissioner Wendy Steendam.

Due to the nature of the allegations, Greens’ early childhood education spokesperson Steph Hodgins-May, called for a royal commission into safety and equality within the early childhood sector as a whole.

“How many more horror stories from across the country need to emerge for the government to recognise the ongoing and systemic nature of abuse allegations within our childcare centres?

“We can’t keep looking away. The government must establish a royal commission to uncover the scale of the crisis and chart a way forward to keep our kids safe,” Hodgins-May said.

The Independent Education Union (IEU) of Australia – which represents a number of workers in early childhood education and care – has warned against rushed solutions.

“The allegations emerging from Victoria this week, together with the abuse and mistreatment of children uncovered by Four Corners in March leading to a NSW upper house inquiry, are deeply disturbing and require strong action,” said IEU NSW/ACT branch secretary Carol Matthews.

“For more than 50 years, union members have pushed for better pay, conditions and training to ensure higher standards of early childhood education and a strong culture of child safety.

“While child safety must be paramount, now is not the time to rush out quick solutions that fail to address the complex underlying issues in this sector.”

Matthews warned against ideas such as CCTV, claiming it would not act as the silver bullet.

“CCTV is not a magic bullet – for example, it cannot be installed in baby-change rooms and bathrooms. It is no substitute for a strong child safety culture,” said Matthews.

“All employees should be required to hold a valid working with children check (not just to have applied for one).

“But this system is not fail-safe, in that it only picks up criminal records or serious reportable conduct allegations.

“Better information sharing protocols are needed to close gaps.”

According to the union, staffing shortages and low pay conditions can be a factor in serious issues like this arising in the sector, with the IEU calling for the following measures to be considered:

• Address the acute staffing shortage by raising wages and providing professional development, leading to better recruitment and retention.

• Pay teachers in the early childhood sector the same as their counterparts in schools.

• Improve staffing ratios to ensure proper levels of supervision.

• Create safer systems for staff to report concerns quickly without fear of repercussions.

• Lift the quality of training by getting rid of shonky training organisations issuing substandard qualifications.

• Boost federal government funding for not-for-profit (NFP) and community-based services.