As complaints rise 52 per cent, new child care commissioner vows to do ‘whatever it takes’

The head of the state’s new childcare safety watchdog has vowed to shut down centres which pose a risk to vulnerable children as part of a suite of new powers designed to better police the scandal-plagued sector.

Complaints about childcare providers have jumped 52 per cent in just three months amid growing community anger after a slew of abuse scandals which included a child being used as a mop while another was made to drink from a paint cup.

Daryl Currie has been appointed the new commissioner for the new independent regulator for the NSW Early Learning CommissionCredit: Wolter Peeters

Daryl Currie, head of the Early Learning Commission, has vowed to do “whatever needs to happen to stop kids being at risk”, including shutting down centres and locking out childcare workers under investigation for inappropriate conduct.

The new power, which will be switched on in the new year, allows the regulator to suspend workers suspected of misconduct from all NSW early learning sites while an investigation is under way. In the past, the regulator could only “suspend” them from the site at which they were working by relying on the employer to cease their engagement.

A parliamentary inquiry and multiple media investigations this year have exposed the sector’s lack of transparency, including high-profile safety incidents that happened without parents’ knowledge.

Loading

As a result, the government has introduced a raft of new laws to protect children. The sector and regulator will, for the first time, have a legal obligation to put the rights and best interests of children above all else. Other changes include the creation of an independent regulatory authority, $55 million to boost frontline staff and increased publication of regulatory data.

“If somebody is acting or providing a service as a risk to kids, my expectation is that we will act,” Currie said. “We act quickly. We act to do whatever needs to happen to stop those kids from being at risk. In our eyes, if that means closing the centre or cancelling the approval, so be it.

“If it means prohibiting someone, so be it. The changes mean we can stop them working in any centre in NSW and take disciplinary action.

“I have no problem wielding those tools, but it has to be proportionate and it has to be reasonable as well.”

The commissioner’s pledge comes as data to be released on Tuesday shows compliance notices increased by 40 per cent last quarter, enforceable undertakings by 57 per cent and prohibition notices by 350 per cent compared to the same quarter last year.

The new powers given to the regulator can prevent a worker accused of inappropriate conduct from switching to a different childcare operator while being investigated.

Currie said he wanted parents to be confident “we are independent and making our own decisions” and said the spike in complaints showed “people actually have trust in the process”.

“I understand how upsetting and for some people traumatic the last year has been. Please be confident we understand and we are prepared to act … to ensure children are safe.”

Professor of early childhood governance Marianne Fenech welcomed the regulator’s ability to shut down centres not meeting quality standards.

“Services have been given way too much time and too many chances to get things right,” she said, but “the crux is still we have to change the conditions under which services operate.”

“Tougher penalties are intended to scare away dubious providers” but are a “reactive measure”.

“What we need are preventative measures,” she said. “Staff are working in conditions where it’s just untenable. Parents need more confidence in a more robust system that is going to protect and have standards in place that can give them the assurance that they need. And I’m not convinced that tougher penalties are going to do that.”

Start the day with a summary of the day’s most important and interesting stories, analysis and insights. Sign up for our Morning Edition newsletter.

Most Viewed in Politics

Loading