Queensland Busy Bees childcare centre fined $12,500 for missing child incident
A childcare center in Queensland has been fined $12,500 after a five-year-old child left the premises unnoticed and crossed two roads before being found by members of the public.
The incident occurred in February 2023 at the Busy Bees childcare center in the leafy Brisbane suburb of Coorparoo.
The boy left the center through the emergency exit and crossed two roads before being rescued along busy Old Cleveland Road.
The Queensland Department of Education said in a statement on Wednesday that the boy was missing for eight to 18 minutes and his absence was only noticed by his mother when she arrived at the center to collect him.
The Department’s Early Childhood Regulatory Authority took legal action against the approved provider of the service for failing to adequately supervise children at all times, failing to ensure a child did not leave the premises, failing to take reasonable steps to ensure staff complied with service policies and failing to take reasonable steps to ensure records were accurate.
Judge Belinda Merrin described the security failure as “serious” when handing down sentence in the Brisbane Magistrates’ Court on Wednesday.
In addition to the fine, the department was ordered to pay costs of $2,105.
“The Regulatory Authority will continue to work with the early childhood sector to ensure they understand their critical responsibilities to ensure adequate oversight of services and to provide safe environments for children,” the department said.
“If the steps taken by an approved provider to ensure the health and safety of children are inadequate, the Regulatory Authority will not hesitate to take appropriate action.”
A spokesperson for Busy Bees Australia said the company was “deeply sorry” for the failure and took “full responsibility”.
“In February 2023, a child at our Coorparoo Center exited the fire escape door but was found nearby and returned unharmed,” the spokesperson said.
“We are deeply sorry for this incident and take full responsibility. The safety and well-being of every child in our care remains our top priority.”
“We have since introduced extra safeguards including an independent center compliance review, additional external CCTV at the centre, improved employee induction with controls to ensure enhanced supervisory training and understanding.
“The matter was immediately reported to regulatory authorities and families at the Center were notified.”
Busy Bees operates centers offering nursery to nursery care in Queensland, NSW, Victoria, ACT, SA and WA.
