An ABC Four Corners investigation reveals serious supervision failures, injuries, regulatory breaches and questions about accountability in Australia’s multibillion-dollar childcare industry. While the federal government insists major reforms are improving standards, parents and experts warn that too many children remain vulnerable.
Australia’s childcare system is facing renewed scrutiny after a major investigation uncovered disturbing safety failures, repeated regulatory breaches and serious concerns about the protection of children in some of the country’s largest early education networks.
The investigation, conducted by ABC’s Four Corners, reveals that hundreds of childcare services have been subject to enforcement action, while more than 1,300 centres are currently failing to meet national quality standards.
The findings raise questions about how childcare providers are monitored, how quickly authorities intervene when problems emerge and whether the industry’s funding model places sufficient emphasis on children’s wellbeing.
Despite significant reforms introduced by the Albanese government, families continue to report serious concerns involving supervision, staffing, hygiene and injuries.
A mother’s concerns turn into an investigation
For Sydney mother Christina Spark, choosing a childcare centre initially seemed straightforward.
When she visited Little Zak’s Academy in Gladesville with her one-year-old son, the facilities appeared impressive. The centre offered recreational activities, an attractive playground and programmes designed to support children’s development.
But within weeks of enrolling her child, Spark began noticing problems.
She reported hygiene concerns, dietary instructions not being followed and her son’s milk bottle being returned unused. She also observed babies remaining in soiled nappies.
As the months passed, her worries increased.
By October, her son, then 19 months old, had reportedly been bitten five times.
Spark eventually withdrew him from the centre.
Drawing on her professional experience as an auditor, she began examining publicly available records about the childcare provider and its regulatory history.
What she discovered led her to question why parents were not more easily able to identify centres with repeated compliance problems before enrolling their children.
Little Zak’s under scrutiny
Little Zak’s Academy has become one of Australia’s rapidly expanding childcare businesses.
According to figures examined by Four Corners, the family-owned operator generated approximately $142 million in revenue and $17 million in profit during 2025.
The business expanded from 16 centres in 2021 to approximately 43 centres.
However, an analysis by Macquarie University emeritus professor Gabrielle Meagher found that 56 per cent of Little Zak’s centres had been subject to regulatory enforcement action within the previous two years.
Among Australia’s 26 largest long daycare operators, Little Zak’s recorded the highest proportion of centres affected by enforcement action.
Regulatory records examined by the ABC also identified almost 600 confirmed breaches across the operator’s services between 2020 and September 2025.
Of those, 181 related to inadequate supervision, inappropriate discipline or failures to protect children from harm and hazards.
The investigation also reported an annual staff turnover rate of 79 per cent as of September 2025, raising concerns about workforce stability.
These figures describe historical regulatory findings across multiple services. They do not mean that every Little Zak’s centre is unsafe or that every enforcement action involves abuse.
A father describes his son’s serious injury
Another parent, Leigh Cotter, has raised concerns about the care provided to his son at Little Zak’s Shellharbour centre, south of Sydney.
Cotter told Four Corners that he had previously raised safety concerns after several incidents involving his child.
His son subsequently suffered a broken leg while attending the centre.
According to Cotter, staff initially told him the child had slipped while wearing socks and injured his head and ankle shortly before collection.
However, a hospital examination identified a spiral fracture in the other leg.
Cotter said an educator later informed him that his son had been crying in another room much earlier in the day.
He expressed anger that the seriousness of the injury had apparently not been recognised sooner.
The ABC put the family’s allegations to Little Zak’s, which declined to comment on the individual case, citing privacy considerations.
Since May 2023, the Shellharbour centre has been subject to further regulatory scrutiny.
In the past two years, it has received four enforcement actions, including an emergency notice relating to staffing ratios.
Its quality rating has also been downgraded from Meeting to Working Towards the National Quality Standard.
More than 1,300 childcare services failing standards
The concerns extend far beyond one childcare operator.
According to the ABC investigation, more than 1,300 childcare services across Australia are currently rated below the National Quality Standard, accounting for approximately 48,000 childcare places.
Around 350 services have received consecutive assessments showing that they failed to meet the standards.
In some cases, services can go more than three years between formal assessments.
The findings highlight the importance of regular monitoring, particularly for services with repeated compliance problems.
A Working Towards rating means that one or more quality areas require improvement. It does not automatically establish that children are being abused or exposed to immediate danger.
Nevertheless, repeated supervision failures and unresolved safety breaches can raise serious concerns requiring regulatory intervention.
Government reforms: 120 services warned, 12 lose funding
The federal government maintains that major reforms are beginning to produce results.
Early Childhood Education Minister Jess Walsh told Four Corners that Australia’s childcare industry had undergone a significant period of reassessment following investigations into unsafe practices.
The government has introduced or strengthened a range of measures, including mandatory child-safety training, tougher penalties, improved background screening, a national workforce register and increased powers to intervene against poorly performing services.
Authorities can now suspend or remove access to Commonwealth childcare subsidies in certain circumstances where providers fail to meet required standards.
According to Walsh, 120 childcare services with histories of non-compliance have been formally warned to improve or risk losing government funding.
Twelve services have already had their Commonwealth subsidies withdrawn.
The minister said approximately half the services placed under additional funding conditions had subsequently improved enough to meet the required standards.
However, the ABC investigation found that several major operators with significant regulatory histories had not been included in the federal funding crackdown.
Little Zak’s and Only About Children respond
Little Zak’s said it had undertaken major management changes, including replacing its chief executive.
The company stated that children’s health, safety and wellbeing were its central priorities.
It also reported reductions in notifiable incidents and compliance breaches following greater investment in staff training and improved communication with families.
Another major operator examined by Four Corners was Only About Children, owned by US-listed Bright Horizons.
According to Professor Meagher’s analysis, 21 of its 78 centres had been subject to enforcement action during the previous two years — approximately 27 per cent.
The ABC reviewed records involving supervision failures, inappropriate conduct and safety concerns at several services.
Only About Children said child safety remained its highest priority and that it acted promptly when problems were identified.
The company also stated that more than 97 per cent of its services were meeting or exceeding applicable quality standards, while the number of services facing enforcement action had declined.
Should profit come before childcare quality?
Beyond individual operators, the investigation raises broader questions about Australia’s childcare funding system.
More than 70 per cent of long daycare services are delivered by for-profit organisations, according to Georgie Dent from parent advocacy group The Parenthood.
Dent argues that the system can create incentives for providers to establish centres in wealthier communities where higher fees can be charged, rather than in regional areas where childcare shortages are severe.
She believes the funding structure requires deeper reform to ensure public spending produces better outcomes for children and families.
The Commonwealth spends approximately $16 billion annually on childcare subsidies, while families contribute billions more through their own fees.
Advocates argue that the increasing financial investment should be matched by demonstrable improvements in safety, affordability, access and educational quality.
Supporters of community-operated and not-for-profit childcare services also point to research showing that these providers generally achieve stronger quality ratings.
The debate is not simply about whether a provider makes a profit, but whether funding, staffing and accountability arrangements consistently place children’s interests first.
Community childcare centres under pressure
The pressures facing the sector are particularly visible in Melbourne’s north, where parents are campaigning to save Merrilands Uniting Early Learning.
The not-for-profit service announced plans to close before the end of the year, following the expansion of competing commercial centres in the surrounding area.
Families have praised Merrilands for its experienced educators, strong community relationships and continuity of care.
Some parents say competing services could cost substantially more, with one family reporting a potential difference of up to $70 per day.
Others argue that safety, staff retention and the familiarity children develop with long-serving educators are more important than modern facilities or additional activities.
The federal government has announced a $1 billion Building Early Education Fund intended to support up to 160 new or expanded services, particularly in communities with limited childcare access.
However, advocates question whether that scale of investment will be sufficient to address widespread shortages.
What parents can do to check their childcare centre
The latest investigation highlights the importance of transparency for families selecting childcare services.
Australia’s official <underline>StartingBlocks</underline> website publishes service quality ratings and available information about regulatory enforcement actions.
Parents can search for a childcare centre, examine its current rating and review enforcement information published by the relevant state or territory regulator.
Families should also ask about staffing ratios, educator qualifications, supervision policies, incident reporting, staff turnover and how concerns are handled.
A positive inspection rating is useful, but it should not be treated as a guarantee that every incident will be prevented.
Equally, an enforcement notice should be assessed in context, including the nature of the breach, the date and whether corrective action has been taken.
A system still facing difficult questions
Australia’s childcare industry plays a critical role in supporting working families, children’s development and broader economic participation.
Thousands of dedicated educators provide safe and nurturing care every day.
But the findings of the Four Corners investigation show that serious failures can still occur, even within established and well-resourced childcare organisations.
The challenge for governments and regulators is to ensure that warnings are investigated promptly, failures are addressed effectively and families receive reliable information about the services responsible for their children.
For parents such as Christina Spark and Leigh Cotter, the issue is not simply regulatory compliance. It is whether the trust placed in a childcare centre is justified.
Australia has begun reforming its childcare system, but the central question remains unanswered: can parents be confident that every child is receiving the safe, attentive and professional care they deserve?
By the ALLORA! ONLINE News Desk
