Australia’s federal government has strengthened childcare safety regulation, but a loophole in the law has been exposed. Even if early childhood educators are found to have seriously breached safety standards—leading to the loss of federal funding for their provider—they can still move to another approved provider, re-register, and continue working in childcare.
Melbourne-based family day care operator Laugh & Learn Family Day Care Education & Training became the first provider to lose eligibility for the federal Child Care Subsidy (CCS) after serious safety breaches were found at two of its Craigieburn centres. The violations included exposing children to bleach and rat poison, as well as failing to properly secure a water feature. More than 30 family day care services were affected.
However, government sources confirmed that current laws do not prevent the educators involved from joining other approved providers. If a new provider deems them suitable in terms of quality and safety, they can be re-registered and continue to receive federal funding. The provider also told ABC that all staff, including the two educators involved, remain employed and have begun applying to register with other services.
The provider claims all issues have been rectified and has appealed to the Victorian Early Childhood Regulatory Authority (VECRA). However, Department of Education documents show the safety issues were not fully resolved, meaning its CCS approval will be cancelled on July 4. VECRA said the provider has failed to meet national quality standards over the past year and will face enforcement action when children’s safety is at risk.
At the same time, the federal government is rolling out a National Early Childhood Worker Register to centralise qualifications, background checks and enforcement records. Since February, 115 services have received compliance notices, with 47 fixing issues and seven surrendering their licences.
Commentary:
The case highlights concerns that reforms focus more on providers than individuals. Critics argue that without a system tracking individual misconduct, educators who breach safety standards may continue working simply by switching employers. They say a stronger framework is needed to clearly assign responsibility, record violations, and allow early intervention while also protecting compliant educators.
Ultimately, trust in childcare relies on robust regulation. If individuals involved in serious safety breaches can still move freely between providers, questions remain over whether the reforms truly strengthen child safety or merely patch systemic gaps.