The safety of Victorian children continues to be placed at risk as new figures reveal enforcement actions taken by the existing state childcare regulator have collapsed over recent years.
Under the Allan Labor Government, the oversight of almost 5,000 Victorian childcare centres is carried out by an internal Department of Education unit, the Quality Assessment and Regulation Division (QARD).
Data provided by the QARD confirms that since 2018, the number of complaints received about childcare service providers has increased by 45 per cent. Yet, compliance action over the same period has declined by 67 per cent.
In 2018, the QARD launched an enforcement action for every 20 complaints it received, yet by 2023, this figure had blown out to one enforcement action for every 88 complaints.
Despite these concerning trends and the critical role regulation of this sector plays in the safety of children in childcare, Labor has deliberately excluded the QARD from the terms of reference of its 'Rapid Child Safety Review'.
For more than 10 days, the Victorian Liberals and Nationals have called for the urgent recall of Parliament to pass legislation to strengthen protections for children in childcare, including by establishing an independent watchdog for this sector.
The Victorian Liberals and Nationals have also called for the QARD to answer a series of questions about any complaints it has received or investigations it has undertaken about the childcare centres affected by the horrific allegations of child sexual abuse by a childcare worker. The government's regulator has been silent, missing in action.
Shadow Minister for Education, Jess Wilson, said: "After years of increasing complaints, yet fewer enforcement actions taken, it's clear Labor's internal childcare regulator isn't up to the job of keeping children safe.
"With hundreds of thousands of children in childcare settings on any given day, Victoria must have a strong independent watchdog to ensure rigorous oversight of this sector.
"When parents drop their children off at childcare, they deserve confidence that they are in the best possible care. Under Labor and the QARD, that confidence has been shattered.
"The Allan Labor Government must listen to the Liberals and Nationals repeated calls to recall Parliament and pass urgent legislation to establish an independent watchdog for childcare in Victoria."
