Morcombe family calls for national childcare abuse register

The parents of Daniel Morcombe have called for the creation of a national childcare abuse register, saying the measure would strengthen child safety by making it harder for people accused or convicted of serious offences against children to move between employers or jurisdictions.

Speaking to 7NEWS, Bruce and Denise Morcombe said recent allegations involving early childhood education and care (ECEC) workers had highlighted the need for stronger national safeguards to protect children and provide greater confidence for families.

Their call comes as governments across Australia continue to implement a suite of child safety reforms for the ECEC sector following several high-profile investigations into alleged abuse within early learning services.

According to 7NEWS, the Morcombes believe a national register would help address inconsistencies between jurisdictions by improving the sharing of information about individuals who pose a risk to children.

Mr Morcombe said the current system leaves gaps that could allow offenders to move between states or employers without sufficient oversight, arguing that a nationally coordinated approach would better support child protection.

The proposal builds on the family's longstanding advocacy for stronger child safety measures following the abduction and murder of their son Daniel in 2003. Their work led to the establishment of the Daniel Morcombe Foundation and Queensland's recently introduced public child sex offender register, known as Daniel's Law.

The call comes at a time when governments are progressing significant reforms aimed at strengthening safety and oversight across the ECEC sector.

Measures already announced include mandatory child safety training, increased regulatory compliance activity, enhanced information sharing between jurisdictions and the development of a National Early Childhood Education and Care Worker Register.

The proposed childcare abuse register is separate to those reforms and has not been adopted by governments.

While the proposal has attracted public attention, details of how a national register might operate have not been announced.

Key questions would include:

• who would be included on the register
• whether it would contain people charged with offences, convicted offenders, or both
• who would be able to access the information
• how information would be shared across jurisdictions
• how privacy, procedural fairness and legal rights would be balanced with child protection objectives.

These issues would require agreement between the Australian Government and state and territory governments before any national scheme could be established.

The Morcombe family's latest advocacy reflects growing community concern about child safety within early learning settings following recent allegations involving ECEC workers.

While governments continue to strengthen regulatory oversight and workforce safeguards, the family's proposal adds to the broader national conversation about what additional measures may be needed to prevent people who pose a risk to children from continuing to work in education and care settings.

Read the full 7NEWS report on the proposed national childcare abuse register here.