Gold Walkley Award win for childcare investigation places national spotlight on safety and accountability in ECEC

The 2025 Gold Walkley Award has been awarded to journalists Adele Ferguson and Chris Gillett for the investigation that exposed significant child safety failures across Australian early childhood education and care (ECEC) services, prompting public outcry and renewed focus on oversight, accountability and reform across the sector.

Australia’s highest journalism honour, the Gold Walkley Award, has been presented to investigative reporters Adele Ferguson and Chris Gillett for their work uncovering disturbing safety breaches and regulatory shortcomings in early childhood education and care settings.

Their multi‑platform investigation, broadcast through the ABC’s Four Corners and expanded across national media, revealed systemic failings in the detection, reporting and management of serious incidents involving children. The findings triggered immediate action, including the suspension of a service, a state parliamentary inquiry and increased scrutiny of regulatory practice.

The investigation highlighted gaps linked to the enforcement of the Education and Care Services National Law and the National Quality Framework, raising questions about the consistency and effectiveness of regulatory oversight across jurisdictions.

Ferguson and Gillett’s reporting brought national visibility to issues that many educators and families have flagged for years: inadequate resourcing for regulation, insufficient transparency in incident management, and variations in the quality of compliance responses. Their work centred the voices of families and educators who had long sought stronger protections for children.

The investigation’s national profile coincides with significant safety initiatives introduced by the Albanese Government, including mandatory child safety training, CCTV trials in 300 services and development of a national workforce register designed to prevent unsafe movement of individuals between services.

For providers, the Walkley win reinforces the importance of strong internal governance, robust child protection training and clear reporting protocols aligned with obligations under the National Law, the NQF and relevant state‑based child safety frameworks.

For educators, it identifies the essential role they play in identifying and responding to concerns. Ferguson’s reporting emphasised that many of the system’s failures occurred not because educators lacked care, but because safeguards, monitoring and escalation pathways were inconsistent or unclear.

For families, the award signals that accountability and scrutiny remain central to strengthening trust in early learning settings.

The recognition also elevates ongoing national conversations about sector transparency, including public disclosure of compliance histories, reporting timeframes and regulatory decision making.

Ferguson and Gillett’s work demonstrates the role that public‑interest journalism continues to play in safeguarding children’s rights and ensuring that quality, safety and accountability remain central to the early learning system.