Better sharing of child protection data between borders must happen urgently, the NSW premier says, after a childcare worker was charged with 1623 abuse offences across two states.
Premier Chris Minns said his government was looking at any gaps in the system to strengthen child protection after 23 of the worker’s 87 alleged victims were from a Sydney facility.
“The pain is unfathomable for the alleged victims of these horrendous crimes and their families – these alleged crimes,” he told state parliament on Wednesday.
Families Minister Kate Washington wanted an immediate meeting of her federal and state counterparts to “demand progress urgently on better information sharing between jurisdictions”, Mr Minns said.
The state’s oversight of education workers would be examined so any red flags in any sector were visible to other agencies and other jurisdictions.
“I want NSW to lead in this important area of national reform,” Mr Minns said.
The independent and Catholic education sectors would be consulted to ensure offenders could not escape scrutiny by hopping between private and public schools.
Queensland says its working with children’s check system had worked appropriately in the case of the childcare worker, including when federal police advised the government of the alleged offences.
“The blue card was suspended and employers were notified,” Queensland Attorney-General Yvette D’Ath said.
“Queensland’s Blue Card system is one of, if not the most, stringent in the nation.”
The charging of the Gold Coast man came after child abuse photos found by police on the dark web in 2014 were finally traced to a Brisbane childcare centre last year.
The 45-year-old was initially charged with two counts of making child exploitation material and one count of using a carriage service for child pornography material.
A police search of his home uncovered about 4000 images and videos the man had allegedly created and sparked a painstaking process to identify the alleged victims, all prepubescent girls.
“This is one of the most horrific child abuse cases that I’ve seen in nearly 40 years of policing in NSW,” NSW Police Assistant Commissioner Michael Fitzgerald said on Tuesday.
The charges include 136 counts of rape and 110 counts of sexual intercourse with a child under 10 allegedly committed across 10 childcare centres in Brisbane, another in Sydney and an overseas location between 2007 and 2022.
Mr Minns lauded federal and state police officers for their forensic work and dedication performing “an unimaginable job”.
“While incredibly difficult, the work that these officers have done has no doubt saved countless other children from these horrors,” he said.
