Childcare worker accused of unthinkable act while changing child’s nappy – as yet another alleged abuse case rocks Australia

A male childcare worker accused of sexually assaulting two children during nappy changes and allegedly grooming a foster child in his care continued working despite concerns being raised to centre management.

The allegations involve a male childcare worker who worked at multiple Goodstart Early Learning Centres in Ballarat and date back to September 2023, and follow an in-depth investigation by the ABC.

The national broadcaster reported that Goodstart is aware of 12 allegations against the male worker.

According to the ABC, the centre’s director was first told in September 2023 about concerns involving sexual behaviour, possible grooming, and boundary violations toward a foster child in the man’s care.

Despite this, he allegedly continued working at the childcare centres until August 2024.

Goodstart chief executive Ros Baxter said the company hired an independent investigator and found a centre director ‘repeatedly failed’ to report allegations.

‘Goodstart now knows that a centre director repeatedly failed in their obligations to report allegations made to them about this person. We terminated their employment for that failure,’ Dr Baxter said.

‘I am always devastated to learn of instances where individual staff members breach our strict reporting policies.

A male childcare worker has been accused of sexually assaulting two kids in his care

The man worked as five Goodstart Early Learning Centre in regional Victoria 

‘But our response in this case demonstrates how seriously Goodstart treats reporting, and our responsibility to keep children safe.’

Goodstart also criticised Victoria Police, claiming it had to ‘repeatedly request police investigate these allegations, after they initially declined to do so.

‘The company said the man retained his Working With Children Check despite repeated requests for it to be suspended.

Victoria’s early childhood regulator is investigating Goodstart and the conduct of staff at its former Mount Helen service.

The man, who cannot be named for legal reasons, worked at five Goodstart centres in Wendouree, Mount Helen, Mount Clear, Delacombe and Alfredton between December 2020 and August 2024. 

Goodstart suspended the worker with pay in August 2024 and later sacked him in April after the state’s Quality Assessment and Regulation Division banned him from working in early learning.

One mother told the ABC her two-year-old daughter said the man ‘always wanted to change her nappy’ and that during the last change ‘he held her down by her shoulders and assaulted her, and she screamed’.

‘A two-year-old isn’t going to come up with those words on their own,’ the mother said.

The allegations were not fully reported for a full year

Goodstart Early Learning Centre has attacked the police response to the allegations 

In her police statement, she claimed her daughter told her the worker penetrated her with his finger, saying: ‘It really hurt, I screamed out,’ the ABC reported.

The mother claimed a senior manager at Goodstart denied the matter was sexual in nature.’

‘I said that I was going to call the police, and she said not to do that and to just send her an email. I knew straight away that that was not right,’ she said.

‘Knowing that there were multiple allegations before my child had even started makes me sick.Because if the public had known, if I had known, I never would have put my child in a place like that.’

A second child from the centre made similar allegations to their parents about the man’s behaviour during nappy changes.

Another parent made a complaint in August 2023 after seeing ‘uncomfortable’ behaviour by the man as he picked up his child.

He emailed Goodstart after seeing the male worker lying on a mat while children lay all over him.

‘They were holding his mouth and his face, and were laying and jumping and or sitting on his stomach and groin,’ he wrote to the centre.

Goodstart centre management wrote back to him saying ‘all appropriate investigations have taken place.’

Victoria Police investigated allegations the worker sexually assaulted two children while changing their nappies in 2024, but recently concluded there was insufficient evidence for a successful criminal prosecution.