Australian federal, state and territory governments have intensified their crackdown on sub-standard childcare services. In the latest quarter, 589 childcare services were shut down, with their approvals to operate cancelled. This is a 20-fold increase compared to the same quarter last year. This was reported by Qazaqyia.kz citing The Guardian.
State and territory regulators took action against 589 services and cancelled their approval to operate, meaning they lost access to childcare subsidy funding and cannot legally run. Though, not all of those services were currently operating.
The government says state and territory regulators also took 1538 compliance actions in the March quarter, which puts providers on notice if they are not meeting standards. It was double the number of notices compared to the same time last year.
Governments have been under significant pressure to lift safety and standards across the childcare sector following allegations of child sexual abuse and safety breaches.
The education minister, Jason Clare, says the proportion of childcare services meeting the national quality standards has lifted from 88% in 2022 to 92%.
"Enforcement action is at record highs. The percentage of services meeting the national quality and safety standards is at the highest level ever as well. We have also introduced legislation to cut funding to centres that aren’t up to scratch … This is a good sign. But there is more to do," Clare said.
These measures are aimed at improving quality and safety in the childcare sector. The government continues to work to protect the interests of parents and children.