Our statement on the recent sexual… | Alannah & Madeline Foundation Skip to main content

The Alannah & Madeline Foundation is deeply concerned by the recent distressing news regarding allegations of sexual abuse involving a childcare worker in Victoria, and comes in the wake of several high profile news reports of other systemic failures in the sector this year.

Our thoughts are with the young victim-survivors of this horrific abuse, and the families and communities involved.

The psychological and emotional toll such events have on children, families and educators, especially in a sector built on trust, care, and the protection of children, cannot be overstated. 

While these events have cast a shadow across the sector, we want to reaffirm that the vast majority of early childhood educators are deeply committed to creating safe, nurturing and supportive environments for children. Their ongoing commitment to quality care and education continues to make a profound difference. 

The Foundation welcomes the recent commitments to improve safeguarding, including mandatory 24-hour reporting of abuse allegations, proposed changes to the Working With Children Check system, and stronger regulations around digital technology and phone use in early years settings.

However, these alone will not make children safer. Stronger national action is urgently needed to ensure consistent national standards and a stronger focus on quality and child wellbeing.

This includes:

  • Adopting without delay the reforms outlined in the Early Years Strategy 2024-2034 and the National Strategy to Prevent and Respond to Child Sexual Abuse (First Action Plan) – with a focus on improving early years outcomes, information sharing between jurisdictions, and educator training and wellbeing.
  • Requiring all providers of ECEC services to undergo a minimum level of training in child safeguarding and child health and development to attain and maintain their registration.
  • A national focus on educator wellbeing to address burnout and high educator turnover, over and above the recent welcomed improvements to educator pay and conditions.
  • Changes to the national training curriculum to ensure all staff who work in early years settings receive appropriate pre-service and ongoing training in understanding and responding to concerns about child safety, maltreatment, and other vulnerabilities.
  • Enhancing arrangements for sharing child safety and wellbeing information, and particularly the introduction of a national registration system that allows sharing of information between providers and across jurisdictions.
  • Provision of dedicated resources for educators focused on wellbeing, relationships and safety, including online safety.
  • Development of a National Plan for Children to create a coordinated, whole-of-government approach, including children and young people’s voices, that centres children’s health, wellbeing and development as the core principle of policy and planning. 

From our work directly supporting early years educators through to our sector advocacy, we remain committed to continuing to work with service providers, government, educators, and families to ensure Australia’s early years system prioritises and champions quality, safety and wellbeing as its core principles – not profit or productivity.

Every child, family, and community has the right to be safe and protected from harm, especially in environments meant to support their learning, development and wellbeing.

We know that the first 2,000 days of a child’s life shape their lifetime — and what we choose to prioritise now will echo for generations. That starts with safe, nurturing and supportive environments where all children can thrive.