With more allegations of sexual abuse at childcare centres, is banning men the answer?
Louise Edmonds, a founding member of the Independent Collective of Survivors, says the safety of children must be prioritised over all else.
'With growing evidence and lived experience pointing to the disproportionate involvement of men in cases of child sexual abuse, we must ask difficult questions,' she said. 'In my view, men have no place in daycare centres, not out of prejudice, but out of a duty to prioritise the safety of children over the optics of equality. Safeguarding must come before ideology.'
Others argue a ban is not the answer, saying sexual offending – which, crime statistics show, is primarily perpetrated by men – is not the only type of abuse plaguing childcare centres, and that the system must be strengthened to ensure all kinds of child maltreatment are either prevented, or quickly identified, reported and acted upon.
Edmonds' comments come as NSW pledges a trial of CCTV in childcare centres and moves to ban people who have been refused a Working With Children Check (WWCC) from appealing the decision.
Concerns about safety in the early childhood sector have intensified amid a growing number of serious allegations against childcare workers.
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In separate incidents over a single month last year, three NSW childcare workers were charged with sexual touching of children or, in one of the cases, child abuse. Last November, Australia's worst paedophile – childcare worker Ashley Paul Griffith – was sentenced to life in prison for 307 sexual offences against 73 victims over almost 20 years.
This week, two men, one of whom was a childcare worker, have been charged with serious abuse of young children in Victoria. Joshua Dale Brown is accused of abusing eight children at different centres in Melbourne, and police said he and the other man were known to each other.
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ABC News
7 days ago
- ABC News
Victoria's children's commissioner concedes 'no-one' overseeing key decisions of office, Joshua Brown red flag
Victoria's children's commissioner has conceded "no-one" is overseeing key decisions of her office after revelations it failed to act on red flags raised about accused child abuser Joshua Brown. The ABC revealed on Saturday that the Commission for Children and Young People was aware Mr Brown's employer had investigated and substantiated two complaints that he was aggressive towards children in the two years before his arrest. The finding would typically trigger a Working with Children Check review but the commission used discretionary powers not to escalate his case, clearing the way for him to continue working with an exclusive interview with the ABC, the commission's Acting Principal Commissioner Meena Singh refused to say whether it was the wrong decision, pointing to laws that prevented her from speaking about specific cases. "I'm not commenting on whether it is the wrong decision," Ms Singh said. Ms Singh said the decision was ultimately made by the children's commissioner at that time, Liana Buchanan. Asked directly who oversaw the commission's use of its discretionary powers, Ms Singh conceded: "No-one." The commission is now reviewing similar cases where it used its discretionary powers not to refer substantiated findings for a Working with Children Check review. But its actions in Mr Brown's case will not be scrutinised as part of a "rapid review" of safety in childcare — the state government excluding the operation of the regulators from its terms of reference. "We will be reviewing our work," Ms Singh said. "We also welcome any other scrutiny that the government might feel appropriate." Mr Brown, 26, has been charged with 70 offences, including sexual assault, related to eight children at Point Cook's Creative Garden childcare centre between April 2022 and January 2023. Authorities took the rare step of publicly identifying him and listing the 24 centres where he worked, as they called for 2,000 children to be tested for sexually transmitted diseases. The ABC has been examining Mr Brown's work history, uncovering a series of red flags that have raised questions about how he was able to move from centre to centre. He was sacked from Nido Early Learning in 2021 over his handling of an incident report, three months before he started work at Creative Garden, the centre where he is alleged to have abused children. The operator of Creative Garden, G8, notified authorities of two "reportable allegations" about Mr Brown's conduct, finding he "aggressively" picked up a child in 2023 and "forcibly" handled two others in a separate incident the following year. Both reports came after Mr Brown's alleged sexual offending but more than two years before he was arrested. He resigned during the second investigation but, with no review of his Working with Children Check, went on to work at 13 other centres. The ABC understands only the worker, childcare operator and family at the centre of an investigation are informed of the outcome, leaving future employers in the dark about previous allegations. "I'd like to see organisations be able to access the information that they need to be able to determine whether someone is not only eligible to work with children and young people … but also whether they're suitable," Ms Singh said. "Sometimes that information isn't readily available for organisations." The commission's handling of Mr Brown's case has brought into focus its operation of the Reportable Conduct Scheme. Through the scheme, the commission oversees how organisations such as childcare centres respond to and investigate allegations of sexual or physical misconduct involving a child. Victoria has recorded a sharp rise in the number of notifications to the scheme — up 30 per cent in the year to 2023-24, and 136 per cent since it began seven years earlier. But Ms Singh said government funding to operate the scheme had not increased. The ABC understands the commission has previously lobbied for more funding but has been knocked back. "I think we're compromised in delivering the Reportable Conduct Scheme to its fullest benefits," Ms Singh said. "Sometimes we're not able to pick up on or dive deeper into those lower-level things that you might find that could indicate a potential pattern of behaviour or potential types of behaviour that indicate certain other things," she said. "I'm not saying this to make excuses but there's a lot that we see that we wish we could do more with."The government did not respond to the ABC's questions about whether it would increase the commission's funding, or whether it would give the commission more powers to share details of investigations or findings with childcare operators. Liana Buchanan also declined to comment.
ABC News
13-07-2025
- ABC News
Calls for review into authorities' handling of complaints about alleged childcare abuser Joshua Brown
Warning: This story contains details of alleged child sex offences which may distress some audience members. The Victorian government is facing calls for a full review into authorities' handling of complaints about accused childcare abuser Joshua Brown's conduct in the two years before his arrest. Police have charged Mr Brown with 70 offences, including alleged sexual assault, relating to eight children at Creative Garden childcare centre in Point Cook in Melbourne's south-west. The ABC yesterday revealed that Mr Brown was the subject of two complaints at the same centre, investigated and substantiated by the centre's operator, in 2023 and 2024. Neither complaint was sexual in nature and came after his alleged period of offending but in the two years before he was arrested and had his Working with Children Check revoked. Both incidents were reported to Victoria's Reportable Conduct Scheme, flagged with the Commission for Children and Young People, the Department of Education and Victoria Police, and investigated and substantiated by the centre's operator G8. Despite the substantiated finding, the commission used discretionary powers not to escalate Mr Brown's case for a review of his Working with Children Check, missing an opportunity to reassess his clearance to work with children. Child advocate Hetty Johnston said the system designed to protect children was instead failing them. "The government has to take responsibility for this. It is outrageous." Ms Johnston added: "I am disgusted in government and the way they are handling the protection of children and vulnerable people. "We have to prioritise the safety and wellbeing of children and that means that anybody that is found to be treating children with anything but the utmost respect and care, should not be working with children." Following questions from the ABC, childcare giant G8 issued a statement to parents on Saturday night detailing the alleged incidents reported to authorities. It said it investigated and substantiated an allegation in April 2023 that Mr Brown "aggressively picked up and put down" a child and failed to support that child while they were upset. He faced disciplinary action, including a formal warning, but returned to work after three months' leave. G8 also investigated a second incident, in January 2024, in which Mr Brown allegedly "raised his voice … forcibly grabbed the arm of one child, the leg of another child and forcibly pulled off that child's shoe". The company said Mr Brown was suspended pending an investigation and then resigned. The report was later substantiated by G8. With no scrutiny on his Working with Children Check, Mr Brown went on to work at 10 other centres across Melbourne, owned by another company. A parent whose child attended one of those centres — Papilio Early Learning in Essendon — told the ABC he was horrified Mr Brown was allowed to work there despite the two previous findings. "It makes my blood boil," he said. It is not clear whether the operator of that centre, Affinity Education, was aware of the findings. On July 1, authorities took the rare step of publicly identifying Mr Brown as it announced that he had been arrested and charged with dozens of alleged offences. They urged 1,200 children to be tested for sexually transmitted diseases. "I am angry at the system now; it's not just the centre, it is the system that needs to be fixed," the parent said. "This is ridiculous. "There needs to be a proper review, there needs to be some major changes to the system. The Commission for Children and Young People, Department of Education and Victoria Police have all refused to respond to the ABC's direct questions about the reports regarding to Mr Brown's conduct. The Victorian government has established a webpage with information for affected families. Information, including details of the government's dedicated hotline, can be found here. The government has commissioned a "rapid review" into safety in the childcare sector but will not probe the performance of the state's childcare regulator. Government minister Vicki Ward faced a series of questions about the handling of the complaints and whether it would scrutinise the action of its own authorities, at a press conference on an unrelated matter today. "We have been very clear about the parameters of the review and the review is undertaking that work and taking that work incredibly seriously," Ms Ward said. "We are waiting for those recommendations to come forward so that we can act on them." Asked directly how she would feel as a parent who learnt Mr Brown had multiple substantiated findings against him, but went on to work at other centres, Ms Ward said: "Any parent with a child who is in care … we are all horrified by these allegations. Opposition education spokesperson Jess Wilson said: "To deliver lasting reform that will fix our failing system and protect children in childcare settings, every aspect of the system should be subject to this review — including the government's regulator and related statutory bodies."
7NEWS
12-07-2025
- 7NEWS
Fresh allegations against accused paedophile Joshua Brown as parents sent shocking e-mail about conduct
Accused paedophile Joshua Brown 'aggressively' manhandled children in his care, according to a new report published by The Daily Telegraph on Sunday. Last month, Brown, 26, was charged in relation to eight victims who attended a Point Cook childcare centre between April 2022 and January 2023, which include 70 offences. The newly uncovered allegations are unrelated to the earlier charges. G8 Education sent a letter to families on Saturday that Brown was at the centre of two separate investigations, which were reported to Victoria Police and the education department. In April 2023, Brown was investigated after he was accused of aggressive conduct towards a child. '(He) aggressively picked up and put down and did not uphold the dignity and rights of a child in his care,' the e-mail said. The allegations were reported by three team members. Brown was given a 'written formal warning' and placed on an improvement plan for his work performance following the incident. Brown opted to take extended leave after the disciplinary action. In a separate incident in 2024, Brown 'forcibly grabbed the arm of one child, the leg of another child and forcibly pulled off that child's shoe', according to the e-mail. He was suspended during the second investigation and eventually resigned. At this time, Brown had a valid Working With Children Check (WWCC). Despite recent claims Brown was not known to police, the e-mail confirmed the incidents were reported to Victoria Police. The allegations did not spark a review of his WWCC, which allowed him to work at other centres.
