WA approved provider fined $45,000 over bush excursion incident

A Western Australian approved provider has been fined $45,000 and ordered to contribute $2,000 towards legal costs following a serious incident in which a toddler was found unsupervised near a busy road during a bush kinder excursion.

An approved provider under the Education and Care Services National Law (WA) Act 2012, was found to have contravened two key sections of the National Law during an incident on 10 September 2024.

The State Administrative Tribunal determined there was proper cause for disciplinary action following a joint submission by the provider and the Department of Communities. The incident involved one child aged 2 years and 8 months old who became separated from a group during a spontaneous excursion.

At the time of the incident, 13 children and two educators were participating in the bush kinder outing. The lead educator conducted informal headcounts without a method of recording them, and permitted parents to collect children from the excursion site, actions later identified as significant supervision risks.

Shortly after 3:15pm, educators realised children were missing. CCTV footage from a passing Transperth bus captured a child standing alone near a busy road, which has a 70 km/h speed limit. A member of the public stopped and retrieved the child just before she attempted to step onto the road.

The tribunal found:

• Failed to ensure all children were adequately supervised at all times (section 165(1)), and
• Failed to take every reasonable precaution to protect children from harm and hazards (section 167(1)).

The provider was fined $25,000 for the breach of section 167(1), and $20,000 for the breach of section 165(1). Aspire was also ordered to pay $2,000 towards the Department’s legal costs, with payment due within 30 days of invoicing.

The tribunal noted several missed precautions, including the failure to:

• Plan the excursion in advance with appropriate risk assessments,
• Ensure an adequate number of educators were present,
• Restrict parent pickups to the service premises only, and
• Provide tools for real-time child headcounts.

In mitigation, the provider cooperated fully with the Department’s investigation, acknowledged the seriousness of the incident, and took immediate remedial action. All excursions were suspended pending new safety protocols and staff training.

The provider has since implemented a range of improvements, including:

• A prohibition on spontaneous excursions across all services,
• Mandatory attendance by a nominated supervisor on all excursions,
• Enhanced risk assessment requirements and excursion planning protocols, and
• Restrictions on excursions to locations near high-speed roads.

Staff involved in excursions must now complete specific eLearning modules and meet probationary requirements, with full staff training mandated by 30 June 2025.

The child was unharmed in the incident and remains enrolled at the service. Aspire has expressed its commitment to continuous improvement and ensuring child safety remains paramount.

For further details, see the full Tribunal decision here.