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Detectives have since shifted their investigation to focus on whether more alleged abuse occurred at other daycare centres. The Victorian government has ordered the early childhood regulator to investigate the conduct of the childcare operators for whom Brown worked.
Police revealed on Tuesday that Brown had a valid Working With Children Check and no criminal history prior to his May 12 arrest.
The Working With Children Check system is under review, but Clare warned on Wednesday the clearance checks were not a “silver bullet”.
“This alleged perpetrator had no criminal record,” the education minister told ABC.
“That doesn’t mean that Working With Children Checks can’t be improved right across the country.”
Victorian Premier Jacinta Allan announced an “initial review” of the Working With Children Check system in April this year, and repeated on Tuesday that changes to screening childcare workers would come into effect in August.
“We’ve already undertaken a rapid review that commenced in April, and changes are being introduced from next month around strengthening the worker screening,” Allan said.
The premier conceded in April that Working with Children Check applicants were subject to “rigorous screening processes” but it was clear the system needed to be strengthened.
Under the current system, prohibition notices banning people from working in schools or daycares are not considered when determining an applicant’s Working With Children Check clearance. Clearance can only be revoked because of criminal charges, or a regulatory finding.
Experts unanimously say that element is one of the system’s major shortfalls, and it is expected to be among the changes coming into effect in Victoria in August.
National Children’s Commissioner Anne Hollonds said the childcare system had repeatedly “failed” families, and authorities have allowed “holes” in child safety scaffolding across the nation.
“We haven’t closed those holes despite many recommendations from numerous inquiries. And so, yes, this is going to happen again, it won’t be the last time, unless we urgently act on this now,” Hollonds told ABC Radio Melbourne on Wednesday.
“From my perspective, I’m pretty clear [we haven’t done this] because child safety and wellbeing is not a priority in this country.
“When you look at national cabinet … you’ll find things like women and women’s safety, as it should be – really critical issues for the country — but when you look at the list, you won’t see the word ‘children’ anywhere.”
Victorian Minister for Children Lizzie Blandthorn said on Tuesday the states and territories were working with the Commonwealth to improve the national childcare framework over concerns it was inadequate.
The nation’s education ministers last Friday discussed safety in early childhood and the progress of reforms.
“We did also commit to having another meeting in September to bring forward much of the work plan that, in the view of jurisdictions, and I expressed this view myself, is moving too slow,” Blandthorn said.
Blandthorn has called for a national registration system for early education workers, like the Victorian Institute of Teaching for school teachers. Her call was echoed by others, including Sexual Assault Services Victoria chief executive Kathleen Maltzahn, who demanded improvements in regulation and oversight.
Early childhood educators should be forced to register with professional bodies, and no childcare worker should be left alone with a child, Maltzahn said. There should also be specific safeguarding protocols around “high-risk” tasks like toileting, she said.
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“Our response is vital. Experts know that lasting impact is usually caused when children don’t get the
help they need after sexual harm. Where parents and authorities respond well, children can and do
recover, heal and thrive,” Maltzahn said, following Brown’s charges.
Acting Principal Commissioner for Children and Young People Meena Singh said ensuring regulatory systems met children and young people’s needs was vital.
“The Victorian Parliament’s Betrayal of Trust Inquiry, and the Royal Commission into Institutional Responses to Child Sexual Abuse demonstrated that action is urgently needed,” Singh said.
“This work cannot wait another day, and everyone can play a part in keeping children safe.”
Under national guidelines updated last year, providers can sign up to a voluntary code that bans phones in childcare centres.
New regulations will also roll out in September requiring providers to have a policy and procedure for the safe use of devices.
Under that framework, the timeframe for reporting suspected abuse has also been slashed from seven days to 24 hours.
A NSW review last week recommended that the state’s regulator have the discretion to force a provider to install security cameras. NSW announced a trial last week.
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Brown is due to face court on September 15.
The Victorian Health Department has recommended 1200 children who attended childcare centres he worked for be tested for sexually transmitted infections out of “an abundance of caution”.
His case is a fresh blow for the embattled childcare sector after child sex abuse scandals in Sydney and Brisbane, devastating stories of abuse and neglect in for-profit centres around the country, corporate collapses and accusations of financial misconduct.
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