‘Such a joke’: Parents, experts lash ‘insulting’ childcare fix Angry parents and peak bodies have slammed a new report promising to overhaul Victoria’s troubled childcare system, with one mum calling the recommendations a “joke”. The Rapid Child Safety Review — made public on Wednesday, five days after being delivered to government — called for a sweeping overhaul to the state’s childcare regime. This included establishing a new independent regulator, increasing funding, and closing gaping loopholes within the Working With Children Check regime that have allowed child predators unfettered access to children. Legal representatives also weighed in on the report’s findings and recommendations, with Arnold Thomas & Becker principal Jodie Harris — who is representing several families whose children were allegedly abused by Mr Brown — sharing her concern about the “number of failings” found across the system. “The review has revealed that Victoria’s childcare watchdogs are failing to keep kids safe due to an inadequate working with children system, poor information sharing, woeful underfunding and a system that places the privacy of educators and the pursuit of profits over child safety,” she said. “We are supportive of the recommendations made but are concerned at the number of failings across the system which have meant that a predator has been able to exploit these gaps and have access to so many children over a long period of time.” Ms Harris said one of the most damning findings of the report was Victoria’s Working with Children Check laws were “not fit-for-purpose and must be rebalanced”. “Families impacted by the allegations of abuse in the various centres will be devastated by the findings of this review,” she said. “They will have trusted the regulators to provide a safe place for their children, yet this report reveals that the system and its watchdog has failed them.” Read the full story in the media. Contact us As a leading Australian Abuse firm, we have helped thousands of brave abuse survivors obtain compensation for physical, psychological and sexual abuse in institutional settings. Money can’t take the pain away, however, it can help achieve clarity and closure. We have extensive experience in obtaining ground-breaking multi-million dollar payments for our clients. Call us on 1300 333 300 or send us a message at [email protected]