Inside the Childcare Crisis: Harrowing Stories of Abuse and Systemic Neglect
Children tied to chairs for hours, force-fed until they vomited, left in vans to evade inspections, and in some cases, subjected to pinching and inappropriate touching—these are just some examples of the severe situations that occur inside some Australian childcare centres.
With nearly 1.5 million children enrolled, parents expect safety, but data and testimonies reveal a system riddled with failures.
A six-month Four Corners investigation has uncovered a broken regulatory system, where centres with hundreds of breaches continued to operate for years, putting thousands of children at risk.
An analysis of childcare data has revealed a disturbing surge in serious incidents, with more than 26,000 cases recorded in 2024—a 27 percent increase in just three years.
Every day, at least seven children go missing or are locked out of centres, marking a 49 percent rise over the same period.
Additionally, more than 3,000 babies and toddlers are hospitalised each year due to incidents in childcare.
A System That Protects Centres, Not Children
One in ten childcare centres in Australia has never been rated by regulators, while many others fail to meet national standards.
Despite this, they continue to operate, leaving tens of thousands of children in substandard conditions.
The investigation has exposed how some centres cut corners to maximise profits, hiring unqualified staff, overcrowding rooms, and manipulating inspections to avoid scrutiny.
Among the most alarming cases is the 3 Bears childcare centres, owned by Dinh Trang, which operated for over a decade despite accumulating more than 300 breaches.
Trang’s centres routinely over-enrolled children, shuffled them between rooms to mislead inspectors, and allegedly left them locked in a van for three hours without water to evade detection.
Even with these serious violations, all three centres held only a “working towards” rating—a classification that allowed them to continue operating.
The situation worsened in 2023. In September, a child at one of Trang’s centres suffered a knee injury that required surgery. Staff failed to act, leaving the parents to call an ambulance.
In February 2024, a child with severe food allergies suffered a reaction, with swelling and welts on their body.
Instead of administering emergency medical care, staff treated the reaction with moisturiser meant for dry skin.
Internal messages reveal a toxic work environment, where staff were coerced into over-enrolling children under threat of pay cuts and were even given dress rules, with an extra $1 per hour offered for wearing makeup and styling their hair in a French twist.
Abuse Behind Closed Doors
For another mother, whose son attended a different childcare centre, the experience was a nightmare. Her three-year-old was routinely strapped into a highchair for up to six hours a day, only released briefly for staged photos to send to parents.
When he began rocking the chair, an educator tied it to a fence with a rope.
Court documents detail even more disturbing conduct. The educator splashed the boy with water for amusement, pinched him, yanked him up by his arms, and threw him to the ground.
He was not alone in his suffering.
Another boy endured the same highchair confinement, yanked so violently that he was left hanging by his arm.
A two-year-old girl, crying in distress, was picked up by her arm and leg and slammed onto a bench. When she cried louder, the educator covered her mouth to silence her screams.
Other children were force-fed until they vomited, and those who refused to eat had water squirted into their mouths.
In one of the most horrifying incidents, a three-year-old autistic boy who vomited was forced to put his head into a garbage bin by staff members.
Government and Unions Demand Action
Prime Minister Anthony Albanese reacted sharply to the report, saying he expects every child in an Early Learning Centre to be treated with respect.
“It’s important to recognise that our children are well looked after by educators and carers in childcare centres right around Australia. But last night’s revelations are, of course, of deep concern. There needs to be investigations and action taken wherever those standards are not met. State governments oversee the regulation,” he said.
Greens early childhood education spokesperson, Senator Steph Hodgins-May, has demanded the government set up a Royal Commission into the sector.
“The prime minister cannot keep ignoring alarm bells, such as those identified in the Four Corners report, and must set out a clear roadmap to reform via a Royal Commission, similar to the one into Aged Care Quality and Safety,” she said.
May added that these reports are likely just the tip of the iceberg. “A Royal Commission into privatised early childhood education would bring to light the extent of the problem and help pave the way for reform.”
Union Condemns Profit-Driven Childcare Model
The Independent Education Union of Australia (IEU), which represents teachers in the early childhood education and care sector, expressed shock and anger over the findings.
“We share the anger and disappointment of parents whose children have been harmed by a sector in systemic crisis through the failings of some for-profit childcare centres,” said IEU NSW/ACT Branch Secretary Carol Matthews.
“Children should never be the victims of cost-cutting by private equity and other for-profit players to boost profits and shareholder returns.”
The IEU stands with its members in calling for the highest possible standards in early childhood education.
“The business model of for-profit childcare providers needs reform—the focus on profits rather than high-quality education and care is behind the serious safety breaches uncovered by Four Corners,” Matthews said.
