Victoria to adopt 22 recommendations, establish ECEC regulator

The Victorian government announced it will implement all 22 recommendations from a rapid, independent review into the state’s early education and care sector, pledging a sweeping overhaul of child safety infrastructure within 12 months. The plan centers on creating a national-leading regulator, tightening working with children checks, expanding data-sharing across jurisdictions, and increasing routine inspections and staff qualifications, prompted by broad concerns raised after a Melbourne childcare worker was charged with more than 70 offences involving babies and toddlers.

The rapid review, led by former South Australian premier Jay Weatherill and public servant Pamela White, found systemic failings that allowed unsafe practices to slip through the cracks as the childcare sector expanded rapidly over the past decade. It recommended a centralized, stronger framework where information about workers—ranging from unproven allegations to substantiated misconduct—could be aggregated and accessed by those who screen and monitor staff. A central intelligence and risk-assessment capacity would sit within an overarching social services regulator, linking the Working with Children...