CECA forces temporary closure of Canberra centre, second for provider in recent times 

Children’s Education and Care Assurance (CECA), which serves as the Regulatory Authority for the Australian Capital Territory, has temporarily shut down a long day care centre in the Canberra suburb of Gungahlin. 

The centre has been ordered to close from 20 February to 5 March, following “a spate of reports about child health and safety breaches,” and is operated by the same approved provider as a South Australian centre which was recently given the same outcome following an inspection visit. 

During the suspension, which was issued a fortnight ago, the approved provider will be required to show compliance with the National Law and provide assurances that steps are in place to ensure ongoing compliance.

“If CECA is not satisfied that the provider will be compliant, further regulatory action may be taken,”  a CECA spokesperson shared with The ABC.

The approved provider operates more than 30 services across Australia, five of which are in the ACT, and has, in recent times, seen issues with the payment of educator wages and superannuation. 

In the past year CECA has received 35 complaints, incident reports and statutory notifications about the company, with the Gungahlin centre receiving 11 complaints, the highest in the provider’s ACT network, while eight complaints related to its service at Gowrie, seven at Symonston, six at Conder and three at Bonython.

Families impacted by the closure have been offered alternative placement at the provider’s Symonston centre, a letter seen by The ABC confirms. 

The approved provider issued a statement to The ABC saying that it was willing to fully cooperate with the Regulatory Authority, and that an independent third-party consultant had been engaged to work closely with the service, to review and enhance practices, and to ensure a high level of care. 

The closure period is the latest issue for the Gungahlin centre, with parents being impacted in previous weeks by educators refusing to work because their wages had not been paid.

In late 2024, there was a mass exodus of educators from the provider’s Gowrie centre in Canberra’s south, who accused the company of consistently delaying wages and withholding superannuation and annual leave payments.

Some of those affected workers have now received their entitlements, but only after their colleagues took legal action against the company and its owner. 

The pay issue also made its way into the ACT Legislative Assembly, which heard the regulator was powerless to shut down centres without evidence of child health and safety breaches.

At the time the ACT Education Minister Yvette Berry called for a stronger national law to give CECA powers to act on issues that affected staff, not just children.

To read the coverage of this story created by The ABC please see here.