Arabic version: الوزراء يدرسون إنشاء هيئة وطنية لرعاية الأطفال

According to ABC News, education ministers will consider creating a national childcare commission at a meeting on Monday, following renewed calls for reform after a Four Corners investigation into Australia’s child care system. Early Childhood Education Minister Jess Walsh said the proposed body could improve national oversight and strategic planning for the $20 billion sector, where some areas have an oversupply of centres and others face shortages.

Ministers will also discuss CCTV in child care after a trial involving 300 services. CCTV was critical in the case involving Injinoo Child Care Centre in Far North Queensland, where footage aired by Four Corners showed a trainee worker assaulting a 13-month-old boy. Edwina Ling initially denied harming children, but pleaded guilty to 82 assaults after being told footage identified her.

At Senate estimates, Greens deputy leader Steph Hodgins-May questioned how a worker studying towards a qualification could be left alone with babies. Walsh said state ministers had ordered a review of how the “working towards” rules apply and the circumstances in which they may apply. An update is due at the next education ministers meeting. Walsh said Injinoo had responsibilities to ensure the child was adequately supervised and that the child was clearly not adequately supervised.

Hodgins-May also questioned why Little Zak’s Academy and Only About Children were not on the Commonwealth’s enforcement list despite compliance histories. ABC analysis of the country’s 26 largest long-daycare providers found half of Little Zak’s centres had enforcement action in the previous two years, while the figure for Only About Children was 27 per cent. Shadow Childcare Minister Matt O’Sullivan said there had been a massive distrust and breakdown in confidence in the sector. Ling was jailed in June for four years with a one-year non-parole period, and the Injinoo centre closed after losing funding.