CCTV Trial in 300 Childcare Centres to Begin by Year’s End

Hundreds of childcare centres across Australia will take part in a trial of CCTV cameras, as federal and state ministers meet in Sydney to address a sector-wide safety crisis.

Federal Education Minister Jason Clare confirmed that 300 centres will participate in the trial, which will be overseen by the Australian Centre for Child Protection.

“Some of those will be centres where they’ll be mandatorily required to install those cameras, and in other cases, centres will volunteer to be part of that trial,” Clare told the ABC on Aug. 22.

While cameras cannot be installed in change rooms or toilets, they are legal elsewhere in centres. Clare said the focus will be on placement, protection, and storage to ensure they do not become a “honey pot” for hackers.

“We cannot be complacent here. Cameras can’t do everything. They can help to deter people from doing bad things, they can help police with their investigations afterwards,” he said.

If ministers endorse the proposal, the trial will begin by December, with a broader rollout planned from February 2026.

 $189 Million Safety Package and National Register

The federal government has pledged $189 million over four years for what it calls the largest child safety package in early learning history.

The funding will cover new compliance checks, safety training, and a proposed register to track childcare workers nationwide.

Clare said the register is being “built from scratch” and will require legislation to compel centres to share information. It would allow regulators to see who is employed in childcare and where they are working.

Backing recent changes to working-with-children checks—where bans now apply nationally—Clare also confirmed $20 million will be invested in mandatory child safety training for the entire workforce.

The government has already launched compliance action against 37 centres that have failed to meet safety standards for seven years. They now have six months to improve or face losing federal funding.

The meeting is also set to discuss tougher penalties for breaches, more spot checks, a mobile phone ban in centres, and new ways of providing parents with information about childcare standards.

“No parent should have to wonder if their kids are safe in childcare,” Clare said.

Abuse Scandal Sparks Reform Push

The renewed focus on childcare safety comes in the wake of the arrest of Melbourne childcare worker Joshua Dale Brown, who has been charged with dozens of offences involving eight children across 24 facilities between 2017 and 2023.

His arrest in May shocked parents nationwide and led to a parliamentary crackdown, with new laws passed in July empowering the Commonwealth to withdraw funding from centres that breach safety and quality rules.

The Victorian government has also pledged to implement all 22 recommendations from the Independent Review into Child Safety in Early Childhood Education and Care, released on Aug. 20.

Measures include creating a national early childhood worker register, introducing CCTV trials, and tightening recruitment and screening.

“You put your trust in a system, and that system let you down,” Premier Jacinta Allan said after the report’s release.

“As a mum, I cannot begin to imagine that pain. But as premier, I can do everything in my power to act.”

Federal Opposition education spokesman Jonno Duniam pressed for quicker action, warning parents should not be left waiting until year’s end for improvements.

“Bureaucratic hurdles are no excuses for parents who expect safer childcare centres immediately, not by the end of the year or after,” he said.