Cairns Childcare Worker Cleared of Manslaughter of Child Left on Bus

ABC News carried a report on this case. The bus driver involved is yet to stand trial for manslaughter in the Queensland Supreme Court. 7 News also carried a report.

Investigation Launched After Toddler Allegedly Found in Storeroom at NSW Childcare Centre

7 News reported on this incident at the Dinky Di Child Care Centre, on the NSW Central Coast.

Concern Over the Quality of Childcare due to Staff Shortages

The Weekend Australian has carried a report on the number of staff waivers being grated to education and care services.

Child Left Queensland Childcare Service by Scaling Fence

The Daily Mail Australia has reported on an incident of a child leaving the Petit Early Learning Journey Centre in Caloundra by scaling a fence and walking to a nearby park where he was found by two educators from a nearby centre.

2020 NQF Annual Performance Report

ACECQA has recently published its NQF Annual Performance Report. It continues to see compliance issues particularly related to the health and safety of children. I have written previously on the question of compliance for The Sector website.

This year's Report continues to show a continuation of the trend of increasing non-compliance despite the disruptions due to the pandemic. According to the Report, the rate of serious incidents and confirmed breaches increased in 2019/20. In relation to serious incidents, which are incidents required to be reported by approved providers, in 2019/20, there was a rate of 103 serious incidents per 100 approved services, compared to a rate of 102 in 2018/19, 98 in 2017/18, and 99 in 2016/17. Incidents involving injury, trauma or illness continue to account for around 80% of all reported serious incidents. In relation to confirmed breaches of the National Law and Regulations, in 2019/20, there was a rate of 156 confirmed breaches per 100 approved services, compared to a rate of 132 in 2018/19, 126 in 2017/18, and 98 in 2016/17. Worryingly, almost half of breaches of the National Law related to section 165 (inadequate supervision) and section 167 (protection from harm and hazard). An indication that there are ongoing health and safety issues in education and care services is indicated by the Report's observation, in relation to the NQS, that (p.21):

...Standard 2.1 (Health) and 2.2 (Safety) continue to be more challenging than most other standards of the NQS.

As at 30 June 2020, 89% of services are rated Meeting NQS or above for Standard 2.2 and 90% for Standard 2.1, making them the third and fifth most challenging of the 15 standards.

In addition to being comparatively challenging to meet, the two standards have the lowest numbers of services rated Exceeding NQS.

 The Sector website also published an article on the Report.