Minister Jason Clare delivers national childcare safety plan to Parliament

The Hon Jason Clare MP, Minister for Education, addressed the House of Representatives on Wednesday, 23 July, outlining a comprehensive plan to strengthen safety in early childhood education and care.

 

Speaking in response to recent serious allegations across childcare centres, Minister Clare confirmed the government will introduce legislation empowering the Commonwealth to:

 

• Strip funding from centres that repeatedly fail safety requirements, using Commonwealth funding as leverage, since about 70% of a centre’s revenue comes from the Child Care Subsidy
• Authorise unannounced spot inspections without warrants or police accompaniment to detect fraud or misconduct 
• Deny expansion or new approvals to centres with poor safety records.

 

Clare emphasised this action is not designed to close centres, but rather to “lift standards up” by using funding as a powerful incentive.

 

He noted that the Child Care Subsidy, worth around $16 billion annually gives the Commonwealth considerable leverage.

 

Under proposed legislation, providers that persistently breach regulatory requirements could have their CCS approval suspended or cancelled. New service approvals or expansion requests may also be denied based on a provider’s safety record.

 

Minister Clare also announced that family day care services will transition to a Direct Gap Fee Collection model, requiring approved providers, not educators, to collect Child Care Subsidy (CCS) gap fees directly from families. The reform aims to strengthen the sector by improving subsidy administration, reducing the burden on educators, and enhancing payment integrity across the system.

 

The government will also publish notices and enforcement decisions giving families unprecedented visibility into service quality and safety performance.

 

To support more robust monitoring, the reforms grant Commonwealth compliance officers powers to conduct unannounced inspections without the need for warrants or police presence, enabling faster detection of serious breaches, including fraud and misconduct.

 

Compliance information may be shared with state and territory regulators, and new criminal and civil penalties will apply where warranted.

 

Company directors and board members of approved providers will be held accountable for the quality and safety of services under their governance. Larger providers, particularly those operating at scale, may be required to engage with government-appointed expert monitors to ensure consistent compliance across all locations.

“If you run a service or hundreds of them you need to demonstrate you’re taking all reasonable steps to meet your obligations,” Minister Clare said.

 

The proposed reforms also include:

 

1. National childcare worker register to track educator employment history and improve transparency
2. Standardisation and real-time improvement of Working With Children Checks, addressing significant jurisdictional variations seen as a regulatory gap 
3. Potential rollout of CCTV in centres, pending next month’s education ministers’ meeting to deter misconduct and reinforce safeguarding

 

“Most mums and dads will think it’s fair that if centres are repeatedly not meeting the standards, we should have the power to cut that funding off,” Minister Clare said.

 

Minister Clare acknowledged parents’ anxieties in light of recent reports of physical and sexual abuse within some Australian childcare centres. He reiterated that safety and quality must never be compromised.

 

“We all understand the hurt and fear surrounding the allegations made in centres in Victoria, New South Wales, and Queensland,” he said. “Parents should feel confident about the environments in which they leave their children.”

 

He noted that larger, chain‑style providers in some cases overseeing hundreds of centres have been under particular scrutiny. 

 

To prevent unsuitable individuals from moving undetected between services, the government will establish a national educator register. This system will track employment history and dismissal records across jurisdictions, offering greater protection for children and clearer oversight for employers.

 

Mandatory, nationally consistent child safety training will also be introduced for all early childhood educators and staff, reinforcing foundational skills in child protection and safe practices.

 

In tandem, the government is working with states and territories to standardise Working with Children Checks (WWCCs) and allow real-time updates between jurisdictions, a long-identified gap in the national regulatory framework.

 

Next steps and implications

 

• Review by state and territory education ministers next month to finalise elements like CCTV, educator register, and safety record-tracking systems.
• Public “show cause” notices could be issued to centres repeatedly breaching standards, with decisions made transparent 
• Legislative progress is expected soon, with strong parliamentary numbers and cross-party backing.

 

Why this matters for providers

 

• Centres must prioritise compliance, security practices, and robust record‑keeping, or risk losing critical funding.
• Employers may soon need to integrate CCTV and maintain accurate workforce histories.
• Families will have more tools and visibility to assess provider safety, including public notices and potential regulatory scoring.

 

Minister Clare’s address marked a decisive shift toward proactive enforcement and accountability in early education. By tying CCS payments to compliance, increasing director accountability, and expanding regulatory powers, the government aims to create a safer, more transparent early learning system for every child in Australia.

 

“Child care should be a place of safety and trust,” Mr Clare said. “These reforms will help rebuild that trust.”

 

Australian Parliament House streaming portal can be accessed here.