Allegations of violence, abuse and neglect in Victorian childcares jumped in 2024-25 | Victorian politics

Reports of physical violence and neglect in child care centers in Victoria have increased, with the rate of mandatory reporting increasing by 32% in the last financial year.

The Victorian Children and Young People’s Commission’s annual report, tabled in state parliament on Wednesday, reveals there were 705 reports of reportable allegations in the childcare sector in the 2024-25 financial year; each of which may involve more than one alleged act; This is a 32% increase over the previous year’s 534.

The report stated that there were 967 individual allegations regarding specific alleged acts. Of these, 627 involved physical violence, 152 neglect, 78 sexual abuse and 27 alleged sexual offences.

Under the state’s mandatory reporting system, employees at a variety of institutions, including educational, healthcare and religious institutions, are required by law to report serious allegations of sexual offenses, assault or neglect to police or other authorities.

The Commission received a record total of 2,232 reportable claims notices in 2024/25; This represented an 18% increase in the number of notifications compared to the previous financial year.

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The most common allegation in the education sector was sexual abuse, representing more than one in three allegations since 2017.

The Commission noted that across all sectors, more than half (51%) of sexual offense allegations and almost half (48%) of sexual harassment allegations were substantiated.

“The substantiation rate for allegations of sexual offenses has increased significantly over the life of the programme, rising from 15% in 2018/19 to 51% in 2024/25,” the report said.

The childcare industry came under scrutiny in July after it was revealed that a Victorian childcare worker had been accused of sexually abusing eight children in his care aged between five months and two years. The man, who has not yet entered a plea, faces more than 70 charges.

After the allegations were made public, the Victorian government ordered a rapid review of the industry; This review found that there was no magic solution that would “prevent dangerous individuals from working in child care” and that the system required a “fundamental reset” to improve child safety.

Education minister Ben Carroll introduced a bill to parliament on Tuesday to establish a new Victorian early childhood regulatory authority, as recommended by the review.

But the government will not be able to meet a deadline to introduce all the review’s recommendations, including an overhaul of work on children’s checks, by the end of the year.

Evan Mulholland, the coalition’s shadow education minister, said: “The appalling rise in reportable behavior shows Labor presides over a broken system that is failing to protect Victorian children.”

The Commission warned that the increase in mandatory reports was outstripping resourcing and undermining its ability to provide advice.

“We focused our limited resources on the cases that pose the most obvious and serious risk to children,” the report said.

“The commission’s resource limitations have affected our ability to deliver the scheme to maximize child safety and address institutional responses to child sexual abuse as recommended by the royal commission.”

The report also warned that conditions in the state’s youth justice facilities were deteriorating and recommended investigating the potential impact of the state’s recent bail law changes.

The commission noted that there had already been a significant increase in attacks; 114% increase among young people, 100% increase between young people and staff and 211% increase in dangerous incidents. It also noted that “incidents of poor quality of care increased by 275%, reaching a four-year high.”

Meena Singh, chief commissioner and commissioner for Aboriginal children and young people, said in the report’s foreword: “It is frustrating to see the continued drift away from what we know works to keep communities safe, often fueled by irresponsible media reporting calculated to provoke ad hoc political reactions.”

The commission also completed 37 studies on child deaths and made 14 recommendations.