Latest news with #G8Education
Sydney Morning Herald
a day ago
- Sydney Morning Herald
‘Children will be abused': Childcare warning the state ignored
But Buchanan warned in annual reports in 2023 and 2024 that each year her agency was being forced by a lack of cash to reduce the number of reports of child safety risks or offences that could be 'fulsomely examined'. In a separate submission, Buchanan also said that delays risked later referrals and led to people known to pose a risk to children to continue working with children for 'an extended period'. Loading The commissioner wrote in her 2023 annual report that she had been forced to make do with the same level of funding to operate the Reportable Conduct Scheme since it began in 2017, while the number of reports soared to nearly 1500, an 81 per cent increase since the first year of the scheme. The following year, the commission's workload ballooned again, by 30 per cent, with 1892 notifications received, nearly 570 of them substantiated. While the former commissioner tried to warn the state Labor government of the danger posed to children, two substantiated reports against Brown alleging non-sexual physical aggression against children in his care at two centres, operated by for-profit chain G8 Education, came into the commission's system in mid-2023 and early 2024. But no move was made to review the alleged offender's working with children check, with the commission using its discretion to not escalate the cases for further action, clearing the way for Brown to continue his work as an early childhood educator until his arrest in May. Buchanan raised the alarm most explicitly in 2022, in a submission to a review of the Reportable Conduct Scheme, warning that child abuse would go undetected and unstopped if the scheme was not funded properly. 'Children will be abused, or continue to be abused, by a person who would have otherwise been prevented from working with children as a result of the scheme and the commission's actions,' the submission read. The commission also warned of delays in alerting police or child protection authorities about children in need of 'protection from harm, abuse or neglect'. Loading Delays at the cash-strapped commission risked later referrals to other child safety regulators, such as Working with Children Check Victoria, the submission cautioned. 'This increases the risk that people known to pose a risk to children will continue to be able to work with children for an extended period,' the submission read. Neither the commission nor the government would disclose how much of the Commission for Children and Young People's budget was dedicated to the operation of the scheme, but the commission reiterated on Tuesday that funding had been frozen between 2017 and 2024, while Singh publicly confirmed last week the position had not changed. Overall funding to the agency increased from $13.46 million in 2021 to $15.05 million in 2024, an 11.8 per cent increase, which fell well short of inflation over the same period. Buchanan, who now works as assistant commissioner of the anti-corruption agency IBAC, did not respond on Tuesday to a request for comment. Acting commissioner Singh, who also continues to work in her usual job as Commissioner for Aboriginal Children and Young People while a replacement for Buchanan is found, declined to be interviewed for this article. Roma Britnell, children's spokesperson for the Victorian Liberals, said on Tuesday that the failure to fully fund the commission to operate the scheme represented a 'new low' for the Allan Labor government. 'Ignoring warnings from the children's watchdog and continuing to underfund a safety program designed to ensure allegations of child abuse are acted on quickly and effectively has tragically, allegedly, resulted in the commission's worst fears,' Britnell said. A government spokesperson said the search was on for a new commissioner.
The Age
a day ago
- The Age
‘Children will be abused': Childcare warning the state ignored
But Buchanan warned in annual reports in 2023 and 2024 that each year her agency was being forced by a lack of cash to reduce the number of reports of child safety risks or offences that could be 'fulsomely examined'. In a separate submission, Buchanan also said that delays risked later referrals and led to people known to pose a risk to children to continue working with children for 'an extended period'. Loading The commissioner wrote in her 2023 annual report that she had been forced to make do with the same level of funding to operate the Reportable Conduct Scheme since it began in 2017, while the number of reports soared to nearly 1500, an 81 per cent increase since the first year of the scheme. The following year, the commission's workload ballooned again, by 30 per cent, with 1892 notifications received, nearly 570 of them substantiated. While the former commissioner tried to warn the state Labor government of the danger posed to children, two substantiated reports against Brown alleging non-sexual physical aggression against children in his care at two centres, operated by for-profit chain G8 Education, came into the commission's system in mid-2023 and early 2024. But no move was made to review the alleged offender's working with children check, with the commission using its discretion to not escalate the cases for further action, clearing the way for Brown to continue his work as an early childhood educator until his arrest in May. Buchanan raised the alarm most explicitly in 2022, in a submission to a review of the Reportable Conduct Scheme, warning that child abuse would go undetected and unstopped if the scheme was not funded properly. 'Children will be abused, or continue to be abused, by a person who would have otherwise been prevented from working with children as a result of the scheme and the commission's actions,' the submission read. The commission also warned of delays in alerting police or child protection authorities about children in need of 'protection from harm, abuse or neglect'. Loading Delays at the cash-strapped commission risked later referrals to other child safety regulators, such as Working with Children Check Victoria, the submission cautioned. 'This increases the risk that people known to pose a risk to children will continue to be able to work with children for an extended period,' the submission read. Neither the commission nor the government would disclose how much of the Commission for Children and Young People's budget was dedicated to the operation of the scheme, but the commission reiterated on Tuesday that funding had been frozen between 2017 and 2024, while Singh publicly confirmed last week the position had not changed. Overall funding to the agency increased from $13.46 million in 2021 to $15.05 million in 2024, an 11.8 per cent increase, which fell well short of inflation over the same period. Buchanan, who now works as assistant commissioner of the anti-corruption agency IBAC, did not respond on Tuesday to a request for comment. Acting commissioner Singh, who also continues to work in her usual job as Commissioner for Aboriginal Children and Young People while a replacement for Buchanan is found, declined to be interviewed for this article. Roma Britnell, children's spokesperson for the Victorian Liberals, said on Tuesday that the failure to fully fund the commission to operate the scheme represented a 'new low' for the Allan Labor government. 'Ignoring warnings from the children's watchdog and continuing to underfund a safety program designed to ensure allegations of child abuse are acted on quickly and effectively has tragically, allegedly, resulted in the commission's worst fears,' Britnell said. A government spokesperson said the search was on for a new commissioner.
Sydney Morning Herald
3 days ago
- Sydney Morning Herald
Daycare chain's investors demand answers over childcare safety crisis
Shareholders of a for-profit childcare chain where accused childcare paedophile Joshua Dale Brown allegedly sexually assaulted children are demanding answers from the company about its handling of the scandal. The case against Brown and his co-accused, Michael Wilson, will return to court briefly on Tuesday, while investors in the publicly listed G8 Education are demanding a meeting with the company's management after this masthead revealed G8 may have misled the stock market about what it knew and when. The charges against Brown plunged the state into its most serious childcare safety crisis when they were publicly revealed on July 1. More than 2000 children who had attended any of the 24 daycares where the 26-year-old had worked since 2017 have been recommended for testing for sexually transmitted infections, and pressure continues to mount over the failure of state oversight authorities and childcare operators who employed Brown over the years to act on red flags about his behaviour. Loading Brown faces 70 charges of sexual offending against children at G8's Creative Garden centre in Point Cook while he worked there in 2022 and 2023, with police alleging that he abused eight toddlers and babies, and contaminated children's food with bodily fluids. Wilson, who has never worked in childcare, faces 40 charges, including possessing child abuse material, bestiality and rape. It is not clear how Brown and Wilson knew each other; however, it is alleged the pair communicated via encrypted app Telegram. The two men remain in custody, are due back in court in September and have been excused from appearing at an administrative application by police and prosecutors at the Melbourne Magistrates Court on Tuesday morning. G8 has repeatedly claimed, including in correspondence to the Australian Stock Exchange (ASX), that it first learnt of the allegations against the 26-year-old on July 1, when the charges were first publicised by police.
The Age
3 days ago
- The Age
Daycare chain's investors demand answers over childcare safety crisis
Shareholders of a for-profit childcare chain where accused childcare paedophile Joshua Dale Brown allegedly sexually assaulted children are demanding answers from the company about its handling of the scandal. The case against Brown and his co-accused, Michael Wilson, will return to court briefly on Tuesday, while investors in the publicly listed G8 Education are demanding a meeting with the company's management after this masthead revealed G8 may have misled the stock market about what it knew and when. The charges against Brown plunged the state into its most serious childcare safety crisis when they were publicly revealed on July 1. More than 2000 children who had attended any of the 24 daycares where the 26-year-old had worked since 2017 have been recommended for testing for sexually transmitted infections, and pressure continues to mount over the failure of state oversight authorities and childcare operators who employed Brown over the years to act on red flags about his behaviour. Loading Brown faces 70 charges of sexual offending against children at G8's Creative Garden centre in Point Cook while he worked there in 2022 and 2023, with police alleging that he abused eight toddlers and babies, and contaminated children's food with bodily fluids. Wilson, who has never worked in childcare, faces 40 charges, including possessing child abuse material, bestiality and rape. It is not clear how Brown and Wilson knew each other; however, it is alleged the pair communicated via encrypted app Telegram. The two men remain in custody, are due back in court in September and have been excused from appearing at an administrative application by police and prosecutors at the Melbourne Magistrates Court on Tuesday morning. G8 has repeatedly claimed, including in correspondence to the Australian Stock Exchange (ASX), that it first learnt of the allegations against the 26-year-old on July 1, when the charges were first publicised by police.
The Guardian
3 days ago
- The Guardian
Victoria to establish state register of childcare workers within weeks, Jacinta Allan says
Victoria's premier has said childcare regulations have 'not worked' and vowed the state's register of childcare workers will be established within weeks, after reports that alleged paedophile Joshua Dale Brown was sacked from multiple centres. Jacinta Allan on Monday said there was a need to strengthen both state and federal regulations governing the sector. 'There has clearly been systems that have not worked,' she said. Wallaby Childcare became the latest centre to confirm it had terminated Brown's employment during his probation period after he worked at its Sanctuary Lakes Centre for five weeks between April and May 2021, with a spokesperson citing that he 'did not align with our company standards or values'. It comes after Nido Early School last week said it had sacked Brown after just 18 days at its Werribee centre in July 2021, after he allegedly breached the company's internal policies around the handling of incident reports. There is no allegation that Brown offended against children while working for Wallaby or Nido. D.O.T.S Occupational Therapy for Children in Footscray also sacked Brown after 26 days working with its non-clinical admin team in March 2024 because 'he was not a good fit', its program director confirmed earlier this month. Meanwhile, allegations that Brown 'forcibly' grabbed children while working for major childcare provider, G8 Education, were reported to Victoria police, the Commission for Children and Young People (CCYP) and the education department in 2023 and 2024. But the agencies referred the matter back to G8 Education for internal investigation and disciplinary action. The company substantiated both allegations. Typically, such finding would trigger a working with children check review but the ABC on Saturday reported the CCYP used discretionary powers not to escalate Brown's case, allowing him to continue working in childcare. Allan refused to comment on the specifics of Brown's case or the 'decision taken by the independent regulator'. But she said working with children's checks would be included in the review into the childcare sector, led by former South Australian premier Jay Weatherill and senior bureaucrat Pamela White. The premier also confirmed a state-based childcare worker register, announced after Brown's charges became public earlier this month, would be established by the end of August. It will eventually be absorbed into a national register, which federal education minister, Jason Clare, committed to last week. 'This is just a common sense measure. Yes, it should have been in place already … it's been a discussion for some time now at a national, federal–state ministers level,' Allan said. 'We're acting to bring this about immediately … and there is more work that needs to be done. There are systems that need to be strengthened. I absolutely acknowledge that.' She also reiterated the government would accept all recommendations of the Weatherill and White review, due back on 15 August. 'I want to be clear that if there is more action to be taken to keep children safe, then we will absolutely take it,' Allan said. Brown, 26, was charged in May with more than 70 offences relating to eight alleged victims aged between five months and two years old. His case was only made public on 1 July after a suppression order was lifted. The criminal case is in its early stages and he has yet to enter a plea. Since then, police have established Brown worked at 23 childcare centres and the occupational therapy service and urged more than 2,000 children be tested for sexually transmitted infections. Police have said establishing Brown's complete work history had been 'extremely complex' as childcare providers do not have centralised records. They warned 'further updates are likely in the coming weeks'.
