The Victorian Nationals and Liberals have secured an independent investigation into the state’s childcare regulator after serious allegations emerged of child sexual abuse in Victorian childcare centres.
The Legislative Council passed a motion moved by the Liberals and Nationals which will see the Ombudsman conduct a full investigation into the performance of the Quality Assessment and Regulation Division (QARD) – the regulator responsible for monitoring safety and compliance in early childhood education.
It comes after the Allan Labor Government blocked reforms proposed by the Liberals and Nationals in the lower house that would have strengthened Victoria’s Working With Children Checks.
The Nationals’ Melina Bath, said an independent investigation into the regulator was a vital step in addressing the systemic failures that have exposed Victoria’s most vulnerable to grave risk for far too long.
“The Allan Labor Government’s repeated inaction, despite deafening warnings from the Ombudsman in a 2022 report, has shattered trust in the system that is meant to keep children safe,” Ms Bath said.
“For three years Labor knew there were serious, widespread deficiencies in QARD’s oversight and enforcement mechanisms, and for three years it did nothing.
“Rather than establishing an apolitical, truly independent, and wide-ranging review to fully investigate the failures in Victoria’s childcare system, Labor deliberately narrowed its scope to avoid scrutiny.
“Shamefully, Labor’s own review excludes any assessment of the performance and governance of the childcare regulator – a blatant attempt to dodge accountability and conceal government failings.”
The Ombudsman will consider the following:
- Alarming reports of child sexual abuse linked to one individual who worked across at least 24 childcare centres, prompting over 2,000 children to undergo testing;
- The failure of the Allan Labor Government to act on a 2022 Ombudsman report that described Victoria’s Working With Children Check system as among the weakest in the nation;
- The lack of mandatory training for applicants and the absence of a centralised register of childcare educators to strengthen oversight;
- A 45 per cent increase in complaints to QARD since 2018, while enforcement actions have plummeted by 67 per cent over the same period;
- The exclusion of QARD from the Allan Labor Government’s Rapid Child Safety Review.
“The system is broken, and now is the time for urgent action to prioritise the safety of children,” Ms Bath said.
“Only The Nationals and Liberals are committed to protecting our children.”
