Child Care news

• Canada has flipped the script on childcare. Could Australia copy?

  12-04-2026 20:30 via abc.net.au
  
  Australia definitely won't nationalise childcare, even though the data suggests there's a strong case. Perhaps a more feasible idea would be to copy what Canada has done.
  
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• Childcare worker sentenced to four years' jail for assaulting toddlers

  03-06-2026 11:27 via abc.net.au
  
  Queensland childcare worker Edwina Ling has been jailed for four years after pleading guilty to more than 80 counts of assault involving three young children.
  
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• Childcare worker jailed for 'cruel and sadistic' assaults on toddlers

  03-06-2026 11:27 via abc.net.au
  
  Queensland childcare worker Edwina Ling has been jailed for four years after pleading guilty to more than 80 counts of assault involving three young children.
  
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• Council to demolish in-demand childcare centre for open space

  28-05-2026 03:12 via abc.net.au
  
  A childcare centre's director says relocation had been promised for years until late last year, when the council decided there was no feasible site in the area.
  
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• Teaching student charged with online child abuse offences

  27-05-2026 07:54 via abc.net.au
  
  A Victorian teaching student, who had recently worked as a childcare centre cook, a foster carer and was a school council president, is facing charges relating to online child abuse material. 
  
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• Property developers investing in 'farms for children', childcare report finds

  20-05-2026 11:36 via abc.net.au
  
  For-profit providers have been accused of putting growth and revenue ahead of quality care in a report into childcare safety failures.
  
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• Family battling cancer relies on donations to pay for in-home child care

  07-05-2026 21:35 via abc.net.au
  
  The government is accused of breaking its promise of cheaper child care, with prices rising for 810 vulnerable families.
  
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• Expert slams WA as last state to close child safety loophole

  03-05-2026 02:38 via abc.net.au
  
  Western Australia is the only state to not recognise Working with Children Check rejections from around the country, and has been "slow" to make other child safety law changes, expert says.
  
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• 'Children have ended up on main roads', SA childcare regulator says

  30-04-2026 22:20 via abc.net.au
  
  South Australia’s childcare centre watchdog says children have injured themselves or "ended up on main roads" due to poor supervision and that one in five services in the state do not meet national quality standards.
  
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• Major childcare operator reveals list of 40 centres to close

  29-04-2026 04:54 via abc.net.au
  
  Victoria and Western Australia will be affected the most, with 12 centres shutting in each state. NSW, Queensland and South Australia will also have closures.
  
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• Childcare group G8 to close 10pc of centres after child abuse scandal

  29-04-2026 04:54 via abc.net.au
  
  About 36,000 children are enrolled under the brand's 395 childcare and early learning centres, which include centres such as Headstart, Jellybeans, Kool Kids and Kindy Patch Kids.
  
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• Childcare company CEO denies problems at centres a symptom of growing pains

  22-04-2026 05:56 via abc.net.au
  
  The head of Edge Early Learning says he is conducting a "whole of business transformation project" after being the subject of compliance action over inadequate supervision and other issues at its childcare centres in Adelaide.
  
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• Closure of specialist centres for children with autism puts spotlight on NDIS funding

  21-04-2026 20:59 via abc.net.au
  
  The nationwide closure of specialist centres has put a spotlight on the adequacy of National Disability Insurance Scheme funding for children with "severe, profound, lifelong" autism.
  
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• SA childcare centre forced to close over seven supervision incidents

  21-04-2026 02:40 via abc.net.au
  
  Another Adelaide childcare centre has been forced to shut its doors for three months after seven incidents of children being left unsupervised.
  
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• Pandemic, 'ice epidemic' worsened Qld child safety pressures, ex-minister says

  16-04-2026 07:40 via abc.net.au
  
  An inquiry into Queensland's child safety system hears the former minister was made aware of the sector's resource issues, as well as the "significant increase" in children entering residential care.
  
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• Canada has flipped the script on child care. Could Australia copy?

  12-04-2026 20:30 via abc.net.au
  
  Australia definitely won't nationalise child care, even though the data suggests there's a strong case. Perhaps a more feasible idea would be to copy what Canada has done.
  
  Read more

• Australia could make childcare free. This is why it won't

  12-04-2026 20:30 via abc.net.au
  
  Australia definitely won't nationalise childcare, even though the data suggests there's a strong case. Perhaps a more feasible idea would be to copy what Canada has done.
  
  Read more

• Husband's dying wish for more kids an impossible choice in childcare desert

  07-04-2026 23:15 via abc.net.au
  
  In the depths grief, this family wants to grow. But a childcare crisis stands in their way.  
  
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• Her husband's dying wish was for more kids. Now Samantha faces a hard choice

  07-04-2026 23:15 via abc.net.au
  
  In the depths grief, this family wants to grow. But a childcare crisis stands in their way.  
  
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• Can Australia afford free childcare?

  05-04-2026 05:21 via abc.net.au
  
  Alan Kohler has a suggestion for the treasurer: nationalise the childcare industry and make it free by extending public education to kids under 5.
  
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• Qld residential care sector CEOs paid up to $679k

  04-04-2026 05:23 via abc.net.au
  
  CEOs in Queensland's residential home care sector are being paid up to $679,000 annually while providers were investing in gold and cryptocurrency, according to a new report. 
  
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• Melbourne childcare centre suspended for 90 days following multiple breaches

  31-03-2026 08:06 via abc.net.au
  
  Victoria's new childcare watchdog has suspended operations at Milestones Early Learning Werribee after identifying multiple 'serious and concerning' issues.
  
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• 'We couldn't do without it': Fears for mobile preschool as petrol prices rise

  17-03-2026 20:26 via abc.net.au
  
  Mobile services travelling across regional New South Wales say rising petrol prices are putting early childcare education at risk. 
  
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• Mobile preschool's 500km journey threatened by soaring fuel prices

  17-03-2026 20:26 via abc.net.au
  
  Mobile services travelling across regional New South Wales say rising petrol prices are putting early childcare education at risk. 
  
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• Singapore has gone to great lengths to boost its fertility rate. Why hasn't it worked?

  11-03-2026 22:02 via abc.net.au
  
  Singapore is well-known for its social engineering to manage population growth. So why has the island city recorded its lowest-ever fertility rate again?
  
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• The network of Liberals behind two 'grassroots' childcare campaigns

  09-03-2026 20:10 via abc.net.au
  
  The childcare groups say they are the voices for everyday parents. What they do not mention is that they are supported by a network of current and former Liberals.
  
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• Missing children, budget cuts and injuries: Inside ACT's after-school care sector

  02-03-2026 20:55 via abc.net.au
  
  Regulator documents expose supervision failures, injuries, and claims of profit-driven budget cuts at TeamKids and Camp Australia out-of-school care services in the ACT.
  
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• Child missing for three hours from after-school program, documents reveal

  02-03-2026 20:55 via abc.net.au
  
  Regulator documents expose supervision failures, injuries, and claims of profit-driven budget cuts at TeamKids and Camp Australia out-of-school care services in the ACT.
  
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• 'Potentially catastrophic': Parents warn of safety risk without in-home child care

  01-03-2026 20:42 via abc.net.au
  
  In-home care provides services to about 1,000 families, but its viability is under threat because it is excluded from a government payment covering rising worker costs. 
  
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• Families 'looking down the barrel' of losing critical rural childcare access

  01-03-2026 20:42 via abc.net.au
  
  In-home care provides services to about 1,000 families, but its viability is under threat because it is excluded from a government payment covering rising worker costs. 
  
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