Accused abuser worked after childcare misconduct claims
The 26-year-old, who worked at 20 childcare centres across Melbourne from 2017 to 2025, has been accused of abusing eight children aged under two at the G8 Education-run facility.
The ASX-listed childcare giant said it investigated Brown's conduct twice while he was employed at the company.
Both incidents, which did not involve claims of sexual misconduct, occurred after the alleged abuse for which he has been charged.
However, Brown's working-with-children approval wasn't revoked despite the two events being substantiated and reported to state authorities.
The first G8 Education investigation in April 2023 found Brown aggressively picked up and put down, and did not emotionally support, an upset child in his care.
Brown was given a formal written warning and placed on a performance improvement plan. He took three months' leave after the investigation.
In January 2024, Brown was suspended and resigned after a second round of allegations.
These included that he raised his voice during interactions with three children and forcibly grabbed the arm of one child, the leg of another child and forcibly pulled off that child's shoe.
The allegations were considered proven, the company said.
"The premier has responded to the information that has been available," she told reporters on Sunday.
"She has acted very quickly, as has the government. Victoria Police are thoroughly investigating what are absolutely horrific allegations.
"I'm not going to engage in any commentary that could, anyway at all, hamper the investigation by the Victoria Police."
The state government has instigated a rapid review into safety provisions in the childcare sector, including changes to strengthen working with children checks.
But Opposition Leader Brad Battin said the government needed to take action rather than launching another review.
"We can't have a system where kids are left at risk and parents don't trust the system," he said.
"We need to see action, and there are some things we can do now."
Other measures being investigated include mandating CCTV cameras in childcare centres, which G8 Education has committed to doing in its facilities, and bringing forward a ban on personal mobile phones.
G8 Education chief executive Pejman Okhovat said the company took immediate action after receiving reports about Brown's conduct and "followed robust processes for responding to serious incidents of this nature, including all required actions under regulation and law".
"All families who were impacted by the allegations were informed of the investigations and their outcomes," he said.
1800 RESPECT (1800 737 732)
National Sexual Abuse and Redress Support Service 1800 211 028
Joshua Dale Brown was charged with more than 70 sex offences against eight alleged victims aged under two at a centre at Point Cook, in Melbourne's southwest, between April 2022 and January 2023.
The 26-year-old, who worked at 20 childcare centres across Melbourne from 2017 to 2025, has been accused of abusing eight children aged under two at the G8 Education-run facility.
The ASX-listed childcare giant said it investigated Brown's conduct twice while he was employed at the company.
Both incidents, which did not involve claims of sexual misconduct, occurred after the alleged abuse for which he has been charged.
However, Brown's working-with-children approval wasn't revoked despite the two events being substantiated and reported to state authorities.
The first G8 Education investigation in April 2023 found Brown aggressively picked up and put down, and did not emotionally support, an upset child in his care.
Brown was given a formal written warning and placed on a performance improvement plan. He took three months' leave after the investigation.
In January 2024, Brown was suspended and resigned after a second round of allegations.
These included that he raised his voice during interactions with three children and forcibly grabbed the arm of one child, the leg of another child and forcibly pulled off that child's shoe.
The allegations were considered proven, the company said.
"The premier has responded to the information that has been available," she told reporters on Sunday.
"She has acted very quickly, as has the government. Victoria Police are thoroughly investigating what are absolutely horrific allegations.
"I'm not going to engage in any commentary that could, anyway at all, hamper the investigation by the Victoria Police."
The state government has instigated a rapid review into safety provisions in the childcare sector, including changes to strengthen working with children checks.
But Opposition Leader Brad Battin said the government needed to take action rather than launching another review.
"We can't have a system where kids are left at risk and parents don't trust the system," he said.
"We need to see action, and there are some things we can do now."
Other measures being investigated include mandating CCTV cameras in childcare centres, which G8 Education has committed to doing in its facilities, and bringing forward a ban on personal mobile phones.
G8 Education chief executive Pejman Okhovat said the company took immediate action after receiving reports about Brown's conduct and "followed robust processes for responding to serious incidents of this nature, including all required actions under regulation and law".
"All families who were impacted by the allegations were informed of the investigations and their outcomes," he said.
1800 RESPECT (1800 737 732)
National Sexual Abuse and Redress Support Service 1800 211 028
Joshua Dale Brown was charged with more than 70 sex offences against eight alleged victims aged under two at a centre at Point Cook, in Melbourne's southwest, between April 2022 and January 2023.
The 26-year-old, who worked at 20 childcare centres across Melbourne from 2017 to 2025, has been accused of abusing eight children aged under two at the G8 Education-run facility.
The ASX-listed childcare giant said it investigated Brown's conduct twice while he was employed at the company.
Both incidents, which did not involve claims of sexual misconduct, occurred after the alleged abuse for which he has been charged.
However, Brown's working-with-children approval wasn't revoked despite the two events being substantiated and reported to state authorities.
The first G8 Education investigation in April 2023 found Brown aggressively picked up and put down, and did not emotionally support, an upset child in his care.
Brown was given a formal written warning and placed on a performance improvement plan. He took three months' leave after the investigation.
In January 2024, Brown was suspended and resigned after a second round of allegations.
These included that he raised his voice during interactions with three children and forcibly grabbed the arm of one child, the leg of another child and forcibly pulled off that child's shoe.
The allegations were considered proven, the company said.
"The premier has responded to the information that has been available," she told reporters on Sunday.
"She has acted very quickly, as has the government. Victoria Police are thoroughly investigating what are absolutely horrific allegations.
"I'm not going to engage in any commentary that could, anyway at all, hamper the investigation by the Victoria Police."
The state government has instigated a rapid review into safety provisions in the childcare sector, including changes to strengthen working with children checks.
But Opposition Leader Brad Battin said the government needed to take action rather than launching another review.
"We can't have a system where kids are left at risk and parents don't trust the system," he said.
"We need to see action, and there are some things we can do now."
Other measures being investigated include mandating CCTV cameras in childcare centres, which G8 Education has committed to doing in its facilities, and bringing forward a ban on personal mobile phones.
G8 Education chief executive Pejman Okhovat said the company took immediate action after receiving reports about Brown's conduct and "followed robust processes for responding to serious incidents of this nature, including all required actions under regulation and law".
"All families who were impacted by the allegations were informed of the investigations and their outcomes," he said.
1800 RESPECT (1800 737 732)
National Sexual Abuse and Redress Support Service 1800 211 028
Joshua Dale Brown was charged with more than 70 sex offences against eight alleged victims aged under two at a centre at Point Cook, in Melbourne's southwest, between April 2022 and January 2023.
The 26-year-old, who worked at 20 childcare centres across Melbourne from 2017 to 2025, has been accused of abusing eight children aged under two at the G8 Education-run facility.
The ASX-listed childcare giant said it investigated Brown's conduct twice while he was employed at the company.
Both incidents, which did not involve claims of sexual misconduct, occurred after the alleged abuse for which he has been charged.
However, Brown's working-with-children approval wasn't revoked despite the two events being substantiated and reported to state authorities.
The first G8 Education investigation in April 2023 found Brown aggressively picked up and put down, and did not emotionally support, an upset child in his care.
Brown was given a formal written warning and placed on a performance improvement plan. He took three months' leave after the investigation.
In January 2024, Brown was suspended and resigned after a second round of allegations.
These included that he raised his voice during interactions with three children and forcibly grabbed the arm of one child, the leg of another child and forcibly pulled off that child's shoe.
The allegations were considered proven, the company said.
"The premier has responded to the information that has been available," she told reporters on Sunday.
"She has acted very quickly, as has the government. Victoria Police are thoroughly investigating what are absolutely horrific allegations.
"I'm not going to engage in any commentary that could, anyway at all, hamper the investigation by the Victoria Police."
The state government has instigated a rapid review into safety provisions in the childcare sector, including changes to strengthen working with children checks.
But Opposition Leader Brad Battin said the government needed to take action rather than launching another review.
"We can't have a system where kids are left at risk and parents don't trust the system," he said.
"We need to see action, and there are some things we can do now."
Other measures being investigated include mandating CCTV cameras in childcare centres, which G8 Education has committed to doing in its facilities, and bringing forward a ban on personal mobile phones.
G8 Education chief executive Pejman Okhovat said the company took immediate action after receiving reports about Brown's conduct and "followed robust processes for responding to serious incidents of this nature, including all required actions under regulation and law".
"All families who were impacted by the allegations were informed of the investigations and their outcomes," he said.
1800 RESPECT (1800 737 732)
National Sexual Abuse and Redress Support Service 1800 211 028
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
News.com.au
2 hours ago
- News.com.au
‘Dark cloud': Parents of children face agonising wait for results of STD test after arrest of childcare worker and accused predator Joshua Brown
Tormented parents of toddlers potentially exposed to sexually transmitted diseases say that even a clean bill of health won't relieve the weight on their hearts, knowing their children were in the orbit of accused abuser Joshua Brown. Almost two weeks after police revealed Brown was behind bars as he awaits trial for allegedly abusing young children in his care, many mums and dads are still in an agonising limbo. One mum told that even if the test results come back negative for her daughter, 'the damage is done' emotionally and her family will have 'a lot of work to do mentally' to put the ordeal behind them. 'The uncertainty and anxiety will always linger now,' the devastated mum said, revealing her test results are due back any day. 'Even when the urine tests come back negative, which I'm hoping and praying they do, this will always be a dark cloud hanging over our heads and we will never have complete peace of mind or certainty over what exposure Joshua Brown had with our kids,' she said. Brown, 26, is due to appear in court in September to face more than 70 charges, including sexually penetrating a child under 12, attempting to sexually penetrate a child under 12, sexually assaulting a child under 16, and producing child abuse material. The charges relate to alleged incidents at the G8 Education owned Creative Garden Early Learning Centre in Point Cook in Victoria where Mr Brown, 26, allegedly abused eight children between April 2022 and January 2023. Brown is also charged with contaminating food with bodily fluids. He was working in the kitchen at a Melbourne childcare centre days before his arrest - assisting in the kitchen at Papilio Early Learning Centre in Essendon, supporting meal preparations while centre chefs were absent. From the day police announced Brown was in custody, parents have been scrambling to understand whether their children at centres across Victoria have come into contact with him. While Victoria Police published a list of 20 centres, other centres came to light in following days. Some remain off the list but centres have confirmed Brown was on staff. A mother from a Milestones centre contacted after learning Brown was at the centre her children attended on December 5, 2024, thanks to Storypark, the platform used for parents to see updates from the centre on their child's day. 'Our kids were there that day too. I feel so sick and upset, that's two days we now know of,' she said. 'Will there be more days discovered and who will tell us? Or do we have to investigate with the news to be our people who find the truth? 'It's sad to think parents are finding out this stuff themselves with the support of the news people, rather than the centre being proactive in telling us. 'I have had other parents speak to me worried sick wanting to know exact dates this person was present at the child care centre. Surely they can tell us - pay slips or records surely.' A father told he was piecing together his own child's visits and trying to match up the dates, 'but also trying to tell ourselves nothing happened but it is becoming sickening'. Another mum said 'I can't sleep at night due to the uncertainty. My heart goes out to the families and children who have been identified and directly affected. 'I feel for all the families and kids, it is such an uncertain time and my main feeling is a mix of confusion, helplessness and fear' All parents spoken to by agreed that 'more needs to be done' to stop child predators from working in the industry. 'A working with children check can be done online in a few minutes. All it really proves is that the child predator has never been identified or caught,' one mother said. 'I feel stronger measures need to be set in place that are systemic overhauls and changes from the centres all having CCTV cameras in every room, locked kitchen areas, no men changing nappies, phones taken off staff and stored in an area where they can only access if on break and away from children, minimum two people in room at all times whether the kids are inside having a nap or playing outside. 'I think the owners of these centres have to take more ownership and accountability for hiring staff. The state and federal governments need to ensure security is tighter at these places than it is up at Parliament House' to avoid 'wolves in sheep's clothing' getting in. The sector has welcomed the government's moves to strengthen protections, with widespread recognition that additional safeguards are needed to restore trust and give parents confidence. The three largest operators – Goodstart, G8 and Affinity – have each moved swiftly to announce and implement measures that go beyond the government's immediate requirements. Together, these providers account for more than 30 per cent of the long day care sector nationally. Affinity's national rollout of CCTV and secure lock boxes across all its centres, is expected to cost around $10 million and is implemented immediately.
West Australian
4 hours ago
- West Australian
Aussie rare earths juniors shine as US dollars flood Mountain Pass mine
There are moments when policy collides with geology, and when it does, fortunes can shift overnight. Last week, the United States Department of Defence (DoD) took a blowtorch to global critical minerals strategy, inking a transformative agreement with MP Materials to accelerate rare earth magnet independence. And just like that, a cluster of ASX-listed explorers, not just in and around MP's Mountain Pass mine in California, but also those with the potential for critical low-cost rare earth production in other favourable locations, find themselves thrust into the geopolitical spotlight. Locksley Resources, Dateline Resources, Bayan Mining and Minerals, Viridis Mining and Minerals, Eclipse Metals and Red Metal might not be household names. But each holds a piece of ground that now looks an awful lot more valuable, simply because of where it is and what it could become. Welcome to the new world of critical mineral real estate, where the Pentagon is your neighbour and proximity might be among the best commodities of all. The MP deal is a monster. It will see the DoD become MP Materials' biggest shareholder, underwrite a 10-year offtake agreement for rare earth magnets and bankroll building a second US processing facility. It's not just about shovels and ore - this is industrial policy at full throttle. The goal? Break China's grip on the global magnet supply chain and resurrect a wholly American capability from mine to magnet. And at the centre of it all is MP's Mountain Pass - the only operational rare earths mine in the US. Zoom out just a few kilometres and you'll find ASX-listed Locksley Resources with its El Campo project sitting neatly along strike from Mountain Pass. Its tenements are surrounded on all sides by MP's holdings. It has rock chip samples grading up to 12.1 per cent total rare earth oxides and 3.19 per cent neodymium-praseodymium (NdPr). MP Materials even tried to muscle in - unsuccessfully challenging Locksley's title with the Bureau of Land Management. The bureau sided with the junior, and now drilling permits are in hand with rigs set to roll in September. According to Locksley managing director Nathan Lude, the significance of the MP deal could not be greater: ' This is the most assertive US industrial policy move since the global financial crisis, and it places Locksley in a unique position to benefit from this strategic realignment. With two fully permitted projects in California, including our El Campo rare earths and Desert antimony assets, we are focused on advancing our multi-commodity, critical minerals drilling programs in the next eight weeks and truly look forward to the opportunity ahead for our investors .' Notably, as well as its El Campo project, Locksley holds the Desert antimony mine, historically mined in the 1930s. With surface samples returning up to 46 per cent antimony and approvals now locked in, the project adds a critical minerals angle the US government might just find hard to ignore. After all, antimony imports currently account for more than 80 per cent of US demand with most of it coming from China. Another neighbour is Dateline Resources, the owner of the Colosseum project, just 10km from Mountain Pass. Historically explored for gold, Colosseum holds a 27.1 million tonne JORC-compliant gold resource at 1.26 grams per tonne (g/t) - a glittering prize in its own right. But new magnetotelluric data suggests Colosseum might also be sitting on the same kind of carbonatite system that hosts Mountain Pass - a rare trifecta of gravity high, magnetic low and intermediate resistivity. The company is now preparing to drill for rare earths, with a direct line of communication already established with US Secretary of the Interior Doug Burgum, who described the reopening of Colosseum as a strategic move in America's quest for critical mineral independence. There's also Bayan Mining - arguably the newest entrant - but already in the thick of it. Bayan recently picked up a rare earth tenement 4.5km northeast of Mountain Pass and launched its Desert Star exploration program, targeting radiometric anomalies linked to carbonatite and alkaline systems. The company has already completed surface sampling, with assay results pending. Bayan's geology team is focused on Mesoproterozoic intrusive complexes, notably the same recipe that gave rise to Mountain Pass. Bayan executive director Fadi Diab says the address is no accident. ' The project's strategic location, just 4.5km northeast of the world-class Mountain Pass REE mine, offers significant potential, ' he says. ' We're aiming to validate surface mineralisation and gain crucial insights into the geochemical and structural characteristics of the system .' But the story isn't confined to California. If the Pentagon's funding blitz is phase one of America's reshoring agenda, then phase two is about building resilient supply chains that extend beyond US borders - and that's where companies such as Viridis Mining, Red Metal and Eclipse Metals come in. Viridis is making serious waves in Brazil, where it has just produced a pre-feasibility study over its Colossus rare earths project, which looks to potentially be the world's lowest-cost rare earth project. It is in the prolific Poços de Caldas Alkaline Complex in the state of Minas Gerais. The company has also just delivered its first rare earth oxide shipment from decommissioned MRI machines to Latin America's only magnet manufacturer, a milestone that completes the 'mine to magnet' loop within the Americas. Viridis has been selected for support by Brazil's national development bank BNDES and its strategic funding partner FINEP under a program designed to accelerate critical mineral production. It has also laid out plans to develop a rare earth refinery targeting US export markets, firmly positioning itself as a bridge between Latin American mineral wealth and North American industrial demand. Australia is also host to another intriguing project with Red Metal progressing its Sybella rare earths project near Mount Isa in Queensland - and doing it with a cost-conscious twist. The company is investigating heap leach recovery for its mineralised saprolite, a lower-cost alternative to traditional extraction methods. Optimisation test work has confirmed up to 71 per cent TREO recovery with a modest acid consumption profile. It's early days, but in a world where economics matter as much as geology, Red Metal's unconventional approach might pay some serious dividends. Red Metal's managing director Rob Rutherford told Bulls N' Bears the deal struck between the US DoD and MP Materials is potentially a big win for low-capex, low-opex projects all around the world. ' We are very confident our Sybella project will sing at this NdPr floor price. It is now up to other manufacturing nations like South Korea, Japan, Europe and even Australia to invest in expanded magnet capacity with REO supply guaranteed with similar price flooring mechanisms, ' Rutherford said. The price flooring mechanism Rutherford is referring to is the DoD's guarantee to pay a minimum of US$110 per kilogram (A$167/kg) for MP Materials' NdPr produce as part of its deal. This is hugely significant because, while the spot price market for NdPr is extremely opaque, by any estimate, the US floor is significantly higher than current prices, possibly by as much as 40 per cent. ' I strongly believe the Australian Government should jointly fund and build magnet plants in these resource-poor manufacturing nations, government to government, on the provision they utilise Australian raw REO materials, ' he said. There is one other project that may be as isolated as any in the world, but which appears to have the exact mix of what's in demand in a location where US President Donald Trump has already turned his eye. Eclipse Metals, with its Ivigtût project in Greenland, is playing a long game from a different part of the geopolitical chessboard. The project hosts both historical cryolite mines and the Grønnedal rare earths deposit. And while it might seem remote, it's exactly the kind of jurisdiction now finding favour with the US and European Union. Eclipse's project has been flagged by the European Commission as under active consideration for strategic project designation under the Critical Raw Materials Act. The area holds archived drill core with confirmed rare earths content and sits within a geostrategic zone where both US and EU interests overlap. Speaking with Bulls N' Bears shortly after the MP news broke, Eclipse managing director Carl Popal said the key gap in building a fully integrated US domestic supply chain for permanent magnets is that Mountain Pass alone cannot carry the burden. ' Mountain Pass won't be enough to support the massive demand for the production of high-performance magnets, ' Popal said. Greenland has long been eyed by American policymakers for its critical minerals potential and Eclipse's dual listing and advancing resource work could place it in the sweet spot for future government support, particularly as Europe and the US deepen their alignment on critical raw material supply. Intriguingly, Matt Sloustcher, who oversees government relations and communications at MP Materials, is on record saying the company and the DoD are already looking to collaborate on the sourcing of third-party rare earth feedstock. It wouldn't be a stretch to think that any of these companies are part of these 'third-party' discussions. Taken together, all of this isn't just a series of disconnected exploration stories and observations. It's a single strategic narrative: a Western alliance trying to wrest control of the rare earths supply chain away from China — and doing it with increasing urgency. For ASX-listed juniors with the right mix of address, geology and timing, the upside may be bigger than any single drill hit. Locksley, Dateline and Bayan are walking the ground around Mountain Pass. Viridis, with an ultra-low-cost PFS just tabled, is already shipping product in Brazil. Eclipse is drilling in a place that's suddenly on Washington's radar and Red Metal is carving out a cheaper path to production. Each company is now a subplot in a much larger saga - one where government funding, supply chain realignment and geopolitical calculus are every bit as important as what's in the core. Investors chasing critical mineral leverage might do well to stop looking only at majors with billion-dollar capex and long permitting timelines. The smarter money might already be poking around the juniors sitting quietly on the doorstep of America's rare earth revival, or at the very least, within a diplomatic handshake of it. Is your ASX-listed company doing something interesting? Contact:
The Age
4 hours ago
- The Age
Aussie rare earth juniors shine as US dollars flood Mountain Pass
There are moments when policy collides with geology, and when it does, fortunes can shift overnight. Last week, the United States Department of Defence (DoD) took a blowtorch to global critical minerals strategy, inking a transformative agreement with MP Materials to accelerate rare earth magnet independence. And just like that, a cluster of ASX-listed explorers, not just in and around MP's Mountain Pass mine in California, but also those with the potential for critical low-cost rare earth production in other favourable locations, find themselves thrust into the geopolitical spotlight. Locksley Resources, Dateline Resources, Bayan Mining and Minerals, Viridis Mining and Minerals, Eclipse Metals and Red Metal might not be household names. But each holds a piece of ground that now looks an awful lot more valuable, simply because of where it is and what it could become. Welcome to the new world of critical mineral real estate, where the Pentagon is your neighbour and proximity might be among the best commodities of all. The MP deal is a monster. It will see the DoD become MP Materials' biggest shareholder, underwrite a 10-year offtake agreement for rare earth magnets and bankroll building a second US processing facility. It's not just about shovels and ore - this is industrial policy at full throttle. The goal? Break China's grip on the global magnet supply chain and resurrect a wholly American capability from mine to magnet. And at the centre of it all is MP's Mountain Pass - the only operational rare earths mine in the US. 'This is the most assertive US industrial policy move since the global financial crisis...' Locksley Resources managing director Nathan Lude Zoom out just a few kilometres and you'll find ASX-listed Locksley Resources with its El Campo project sitting neatly along strike from Mountain Pass. Its tenements are surrounded on all sides by MP's holdings. It has rock chip samples grading up to 12.1 per cent total rare earth oxides and 3.19 per cent neodymium-praseodymium (NdPr). MP Materials even tried to muscle in - unsuccessfully challenging Locksley's title with the Bureau of Land Management. The bureau sided with the junior, and now drilling permits are in hand with rigs set to roll in September. According to Locksley managing director Nathan Lude, the significance of the MP deal could not be greater: ' This is the most assertive US industrial policy move since the global financial crisis, and it places Locksley in a unique position to benefit from this strategic realignment. With two fully permitted projects in California, including our El Campo rare earths and Desert antimony assets, we are focused on advancing our multi-commodity, critical minerals drilling programs in the next eight weeks and truly look forward to the opportunity ahead for our investors.' Notably, as well as its El Campo project, Locksley holds the Desert antimony mine, historically mined in the 1930s. With surface samples returning up to 46 per cent antimony and approvals now locked in, the project adds a critical minerals angle the US government might just find hard to ignore. After all, antimony imports currently account for more than 80 per cent of US demand with most of it coming from China. Another neighbour is Dateline Resources, the owner of the Colosseum project, just 10km from Mountain Pass. Historically explored for gold, Colosseum holds a 27.1 million tonne JORC-compliant gold resource at 1.26 grams per tonne (g/t) - a glittering prize in its own right.
