A 21-year-old man has been charged with indecently treating a four-year-old child at a Brisbane childcare centre, Queensland Police say.
Police allege the man committed the offence at a Tingalpa childcare centre on July 10.
The man has been charged with one count of indecent treatment of a child and was granted conditional bail to appear in Brisbane Magistrates Court on Aug. 4.
Investigations by the Bayside Child Protection Investigation Unit are ongoing.
Authorities have urged anyone with information on the alleged crime should contact police and quote reference number QP2501220740.
The incident follows a string of high-profile cases involving childcare workers across the country. Just weeks ago, 26-year-old Joshua Dale Brown was charged with more than 70 child sex offences allegedly committed during his career in the sector. Police say his alleged victims ranged in age from five months to two years.
Days earlier, a Sydney father and childcare worker, whose name is suppressed for legal reasons, was arrested by Australian Federal Police and charged with seven counts of using a child to make abusive material.
In the wake of these cases, a Queensland review into abuse in the early childhood sector found that organisations often prioritised their reputations and legal risk over safeguarding children.
The review was conducted after one of Australia’s worst paedophiles, Ashley Paul Griffith, was handed a life sentence in 2024 after pleading guilty to 307 crimes against 65 children.
The former Queensland childcare worker is currently appealing his 27-year non-parole period, arguing the sentence is “manifestly excessive.”
But a former royal commissioner has accused the state and federal governments of doing too little to implement safeguards for children.
Robert Fitzgerald said that it was difficult to get all states and territories to act.
“Ten years on from our recommendations around information sharing and record keeping, the job has not yet been done and it has not been done because the nine governments of Australia have not committed the willpower to get it done in a timely manner,” he told AAP
Fitzgerald said children were being put at risk by governments dragging their heels on taking action and enacting recommendations around better processes.
“These are all manageable. These are all achievable, and my disappointment is that progress has been made, but the job should have been done,” he said.
