Only 10 per cent of allegations of sexual abuse or grooming by childcare workers in Western Australia in the past almost six years resulted in someone being banned from working in the industry, data obtained exclusively by the ABC reveals.
The revelation has prompted calls for WA and other states to follow New South Wales and Victoria in creating an independent regulator with “more teeth” to police the early childhood sector.
The WA figures have emerged amid a national push to tighten regulation of the childcare industry after a string of disturbing cases, and evidence paedophiles were targeting the sector was revealed by Four Corners.
Australia’s child care paedophile crisis exposed
State and territory governments around the country ordered snap reviews after details came to light of such cases as “depraved” paedophile Ashley Paul Griffith, who raped and abused at least 69 children in early learning centres in Brisbane and Italy over almost two decades.
Meanwhile in Victoria more than 70 charges have been laid against alleged paedophile childcare worker Joshua Dale Brown, a case which also saw more than 2,000 children tested for sexually transmitted diseases as a precaution.
The ABC can now reveal since 2020 there were 109 investigations into alleged sexual abuse in the childcare sector in WA, but no further action was taken in 97 of these cases.
The data was obtained via Freedom of Information requests to the WA Department of Communities. (ABC News: Lucas Hill)
WA’s Department of Communities’ Education and Care Regulatory Unit (ECRU) is the state’s industry watchdog, and has the power to ban workers through a “prohibition notice”, and discipline providers found to be in breach of child safety standards.
The department figures also revealed half a dozen “negative notices” were issued for Working with Children Checks in the childcare sector over the previous six years in WA, for child sex-related offences.
The department was unable to say whether those notices were for people trying to obtain a Working with Children Check to enter the childcare sector, or were already employed.
Do you know more about this story? Contact Rebecca Trigger.
Horror realisation
Parents Sarah and David, whose names have been changed to preserve their privacy, believe their toddler was one of a cluster of children sexually abused at a Perth daycare.
The alleged offender remains at large, and Sarah said there was nothing to stop them from continuing to work in child care and continue offending.
Two years ago, when David picked their daughter up from daycare, she was quite distressed.
Parents Sarah and David, not their real names, believe their child was one of a cluster of children sexually abused at a Perth daycare.
(ABC News: Lauren Smith)
“It was just a regular day when he picked her up, she was really visibly upset and clingy,” Sarah said.
“She couldn’t walk, she didn’t want to walk home the couple of blocks that we normally would walk so he had to carry her all the way home, which hadn’t happened before.”
When she climbed out of the bath that night, she had blood running down both legs and was in obvious pain.
The family took her to her GP who found she had bacterial vaginosis, a condition that can be related to sexual activity.
The usually placid toddler also began experiencing emotional outbursts, and behavioural regressions like needing her dummy for comfort and wanting to re-engage in breastfeeding.
Sarah and David fear the person or persons who abused her child could still be working in daycare centres.
(ABC News: Lauren Smith)
She became anxious about going to sleep and having her nappy changed and later demonstrated sexualised behaviour with dolls.
A psychologist found she had experienced some sort of significant event that caused disruption to her psychological and emotional state.
Facing obstacles
The parents contacted their daycare but claim the centre did not refer them to police or tell them they had already received similar allegations.
The ABC has seen documentation referring to three families coming forward within a week of each other to report their concerns to the centre.
Sarah believes there was a fourth family who reported concerns to the centre earlier that year but were not included in an investigation commissioned by the centre.
Parents Sarah and David, not their real names, are concerned there is no system to track people associated with child abuse allegations. (ABC News: Lauren Smith)
WA Police would not confirm the total number of children whose families made allegations.
“A comprehensive investigation determined there was no evidence of criminality in relation to this matter,” a spokesman for WA Police said.
Following further concerns raised by parents, WA Police reviewed the initial investigation but “the findings supported the original conclusion”, the spokesman said.
A private investigator engaged by the centre told Sarah and David police had found “information gathered throughout the investigation would strongly suggest no offence has occurred”.
The parents were disillusioned by the process.
Sarah and David say the investigation process was traumatic for their family. (ABC News: Lauren Smith)
“Police said that any verbal disclosures from people under the age of four can’t be considered evidential,” Sarah said.
“On the basis of that, there was never going to be a way really that we were going to get any further action from the police.”
The regulator, ECRU, also investigated but took no action against the centre.
“ECRU did not reach out to us as part of their investigation, we proactively contacted them and it didn’t appear that it would be part of the processes to interview families who had made allegations,” Sarah said.
She said it felt like the approach to interrogating the allegations was focused on reinforcing the idea that nothing had happened.
“When we realised we felt that this had happened to our child, we were obviously devastated for her and in shock,” Sarah said.
“But actually what’s been equally traumatic has been the impact of the way that we’ve been treated by the systems and the way that this hasn’t been taken seriously.”If you or anyone you know needs help:Hiding in plain sight
Sarah also questioned why there was no system to track people associated with concerning allegations, in light of revelations authorities were aware of previous investigations into Victorian childcare worker Joshua Dale Brown two years before he was charged.
Sarah believes the person or persons who abused her child could still be working in daycare centres in WA or elsewhere.
“In my mind there’s no doubt that they would be out there and continuing,” she said.
“Something that we would love to see is … a national coordinated registry of workers, daycare workers, who have had allegations placed against them or suspicions.
“We know that … very few allegations actually lead to any conviction in these situations, so, you know, it’s really, really easy for perpetrators to be able to move around, really hidden.”
Watchdog needs ‘more teeth’
WA Liberal Opposition spokesman for early childhood, Liam Staltari, says the figures obtained by the ABC and the “shocking revelations” in the eastern states show more work needs to be done.
“Not everything will result in concrete action, but 10 per cent is too little,” he said.
He wants WA to establish an independent watchdog with “more teeth” that could investigate allegations of this nature and ensure compliance, by taking ECRU out of the Department of Communities and beefing up its powers.
Liam Staltari says more work must be done to keep children safe. (ABC News: Rebecca Trigger)
“I think we all know that the vast majority of people who work in these sectors do the right thing, they are passionate about the job and the children they care for,” Mr Staltari said.
“But when we know predators are infiltrating the sector, when we know they’re more sophisticated than we might have liked, we need to ensure our controls and that scrutiny through the regulator is as strong and sophisticated as possible.”
The ABC asked WA Early Childhood Minister Sabine Winton whether the numbers were of concern to her and why the number of prohibition notices was so low compared to the number of allegations.
“Any allegation of inappropriate behaviour is taken very seriously, and where serious incidents are identified, the [ECRU] investigates and takes appropriate actions,” Ms Winton said in a statement.
Sabine Winton says allegations of inappropriate behaviour at childcare centres are taken seriously. (ABC News: Keane Bourke)
Investigating Australia’s childcare crisis
“If there are reasonable grounds to believe a person engaged in the provision of education and care poses a risk to the safety, health and wellbeing of a child or children, ECRU may issue a prohibition notice.
“It is my expectation that the safety of children is always prioritised.”
She did not respond directly to whether her government would support ECRU being made into an independent regulatory body.
The minister pointed to recent reforms, including last month’s announcement the WA Ombudsman would act as an independent oversight body for child-related organisations, tasked with improving the transparency and accountability of organisations responding to allegations of child sexual abuse.
The WA government also pledged $1.1 million to ECRU following recommendations of a snap review of the sector in August, an amount the Opposition says should have been higher.
States and territories take different steps
In June, New South Wales pledged to establish an independent regulator as part of “sweeping reforms” to the early childhood sector along with increasing fines for poor quality operators.
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In August, Victorian Premier Jacinta Allan pledged to set up a new “nation-leading” independent regulator that would more than double the frequency of compliance checks.
Education ministers agreed in August to establish a National Educator Register to collect and maintain identity, training and Working with Children Check registration details on childcare workers around the country.
They also agreed, among other measures, to make “inappropriate conduct” an offence for all staff and volunteers and ban the use of mobile phones and personal recording devices in childcare settings.
CCTV will also be trialled in some centres.
But reviews by state and territory governments in each jurisdiction have produced mixed recommendations, with some states stopping short of an independent regulator.
Children must be heard
Advocates say while regulation is vital, a cultural shift on how abuse is talked about and addressed is also critical.
Parkerville Children and Youth Care chief executive Kim Brooklyn said parents should not be afraid to question daycares closely about what they were doing to keep children safe.
“What is it that you’re doing on a day-to-day practice level, that assures me, that can show me that my child will be safe with you, I think that’s a really reasonable question to ask,” she said.
Kim Brooklyn says childcare providers must listen to the concerns of families. (ABC News: Rebecca Trigger)
She also urged childcare providers to listen to the concerns of children and families.
“You also need to find ways to create avenues for children to have their voice so that they can be seen, heard, and believed,” she said.
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“I think part of that is valuing children and valuing them as capable of truth telling, but also capable of demonstrating to you in their behaviours and their voices that something’s not right.”
David and Sarah hope by sharing their stories, they can warn other parents of what to look out for and prompt institutional change.
“It’s important that we talk about these things and we continue to discuss these issues, because … part of the problem is that it makes people uncomfortable to talk about it,” David said.
“Instead, I think as a society we look the other way, because no one wants to see it, no one wants to the see the monster.”Loading…Loading