By Internewscast
Childcare centres failing to meet standards could face random 鈥渟pot checks鈥 under expanded powers the federal government will move to legislate soon after parliament returns, Education Minister Jason Clare says.
The legislation, Clare said, would give his department the power to pull funding from childcare centres 鈥減ersistently failing鈥 to meet safety and quality standards.
鈥淥ne of the big weapons that the Commonwealth has, probably the biggest, is the funding that we provide to childcare centres 鈥 if they don鈥檛 get it, they can鈥檛 operate,鈥 he told Sky News on Friday.
Centres not meeting minimum standards would also be unable to expand, Clare said, adding the bill would also allow department officials to make unannounced visits to centres where there is suspected fraud.
Brown, 26, had a valid working with children check and was not known to police or subject to any complaints before his arrest in May.
Every state and territory maintains separate working with children schemes with different rules and requirements.
Victoria, Queensland, and NSW have all committed to reviewing or tightening their regimes, and Clare confirmed plans to strengthen the checks will be discussed at a meeting of state and federal attorneys-general in August.
He said they would examine how to improve the criminal record check system.
鈥淧art of it is about information sharing across borders,鈥 Clare said. 鈥淧art of it is about making sure that it鈥檚 updated in near real time.鈥
But Clare warned there was 鈥渘o silver bullet鈥 to solving problems in the sector.
Education Minister Jason Clare said early childhood education ministers would discuss the use of CCTV cameras at centres when they meet next month. Source: AAP / Dominic Lipinski/PA
Clare also said that early education ministers would discuss the installation of CCTV cameras at childcare centres when they meet next month, following the announcement by childcare chain Goodstart Early Learning that it would install them across its 653 centres.
鈥淥ne of the things that having a CCTV camera in a childcare centre can do is if there鈥檚 somebody that鈥檚 potentially up to no good, they know the camera鈥檚 there,鈥 Clare said. 鈥淚t means it鈥檚 less likely that they鈥檙e going to act, so it鈥檚 one of the things that we鈥檙e looking at right now.鈥
It comes as a former royal commissioner has criticised governments for dragging their feet on creating a national regime for Working With Children Checks (WWCC).
The Royal Commission into Institutional Responses to Child Sexual Abuse called on the federal government in 2015 to 鈥渇acilitate a national model鈥 for WWCC.
Robert Fitzgerald, one of five members of the royal commission, said the recommendation remained unfulfilled.
鈥淢y view is that is shameful,鈥 the now-age discrimination commissioner told the Australian Associated Press.
鈥淭en years on, that job should have been completed and the fact that it isn鈥檛 means there are gaps in our child safeguarding regime.鈥
Clare said earlier this week the reforms had taken 鈥渢oo bloody long鈥.
鈥 With additional reporting by the Australian Associated Press