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How to make childhood education centres safer

With a new minister for early childhood education, what can the federal government do to make centres safer?

Amid media headlines of abuse and neglect in rogue childcare centres, ÌÇÐÄÔ­´´ early childhood expert Dr Victoria Minson and Institute of Child Protection Studies Director Professor Daryl Higgins wrote a piece for about what the new Australian Government needs to do to better ensure children's safety. The say that government and community attention needs to be focused on the safety and quality of childcare centres.

Recent election promises in May 2025 ensured that the early childhood education sector can expect higher subsidies but there have been no policy announcements on fixing the cracks in care, staffing and regulation that put children at risk daily.

Dr Minson and Prof Higgins suggest three key tips for the Albanese Government, specifically for Senator Jess Walsh in her role as the new Minister for Early Childhood Education, to consider as part of its wider commitment to boosting services and improving access to affordable childcare.

They offer 3 suggestions to improve the safety of childcare centres: design safer centres, conduct a thorough investigation, and boost the status of early childhood education

Media links

Read the full article in The Conversation link below and listen to extended interviews with radio programs (free access) about the state of the nation's childcare centres and the need for a taskforce to assess risks and improve safeguarding.

• The Conversation, 16 May 2025
• , The Wire, 19 May 2025
• , 666 ABC Radio Canberra, Afternoons with Alice Matthews, 19 May 2025

Other links

We also recommend that you watch this recording on YouTube of a presentation by Katharina Ahmadi-Wachter about a program designed to prevent harmful educator behaviour in childcare settings conducted in 25 childcare settings in Germany:

And see this overview of and this practice resource on contextual prevention: Going beyond individual prevention