Full Story Can the government keep kids safe in childcare?
Aug 20, 2025
Kate Lyons, a Senior reporter at The Guardian with a focus on childcare policy, dives into pressing issues surrounding safety in childcare. She discusses recent abuse allegations that have triggered calls for reform and scrutinizes government actions aimed at restoring parental trust. Kate highlights the complexities of implementing a national working with children checks system and debates the introduction of mandatory CCTV in centers. She emphasizes the urgent need for meaningful reforms that prioritize child safety while balancing individual rights.
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Moment For Real Reform
- The childcare safety debate is urgent because allegations of abuse have recurred for years and demand systemic change.
- Kate Lyons warns reforms can be wasted if recommendations sit on shelves without hard policy follow-through.
Use Funding As A Compliance Lever
- The federal government has started using funding power to penalise centres that repeatedly fail standards.
- Remove or threaten to remove subsidies from poor-performing centres to drive compliance and protection.
National Checks But Uneven Standards
- A national working-with-children check will ban people everywhere if banned in one state but won't harmonise assessment criteria.
- Lyons says that preserves inconsistent state thresholds and leaves a blunt instrument in place.