Parents worry as 'gutted' staff back childcare reforms

Shocked parents who unknowingly handed over their children to an alleged sex abuser are demanding answers as "gutted" workers back safety changes.

Former childcare worker Joshua Dale Brown, 26, was charged with more than 70 sex offences against eight alleged victims aged under two at a centre at Point Cook, in Melbourne's southwest.

Father-of-three Satbir, who didn't want his surname used, recognised the alleged offender on the news.

He said he went to Creative Garden Early Learning Centre for details about Brown's supervision of his children in 2023.

"I dropped off my child into his hands a couple of times," Satbir told AAP.

"I'm a bit worried. I (need) to find out everything. I've seen him in the classroom where I dropped my children."

He wanted advice on whether two of his children needed to be tested for infectious diseases after more than 1200 families were told to have their infants screened.

Allegations against Brown sent shockwaves through the early learning sector and thousands of Australian families, with charges against him including sexual penetration of a child under 12 and producing child abuse material.

He has also been charged with recklessly contaminating goods to cause alarm or anxiety, a charge that refers to the alleged contamination of food with bodily fluids.

Another parent of a child who attended the Point Cook centre from 2021 to 2023, who declined to give their name, received a generic response when he contacted authorities and later found the same information in the news.

"There's a lot of stress. It's very distressing, so I needed to come and get some details," he said.

The United Workers Union said staff in the sector shared parents' distress and would support any measures to protect children.

"This has really, really gutted educators across Australia," union director of early childhood education Carolyn Smith said.

"So drop off and pick up, I think it's a lot more intense, a lot more emotional at the moment."

She urged authorities to review the use of agency staff in the highly casualised workforce, saying a stable workforce was the key to keeping children safe and quality education.

"It is about parents knowing the educator, educators knowing each other," Ms Smith said.

"When you have a churn of educators, you don't know who is in the centre, who they are."

State, territory and federal governments are working on national reforms of working with children checks, but Education Minister Jason Clare admitted change had been too slow.

He pushed back against a call to ban men from working as early childhood educators, pointing to separate allegations involving female workers.

Ms Smith said she was worried about the impact of the case on the perception of men in early education, their participation in the workforce and the flow-on effects of losing any strong male role models.

"We need to set up a system that is safer, rather than targeting a gender or a particular group of workers," she said.

The federal government will introduce legislation to cut funding to childcare centres that breach safety rules later in July.

Shadow attorney-general Julian Leeser backed any changes that would help to protect children.

National Children's Commissioner Anne Hollonds has also called for child safety and wellbeing to be a priority for the next national cabinet.

Brown was not known to Victoria Police until the start of the investigation, there were no formal complaints against him and he had a valid working with children check.

Mandatory CCTV in centres will be considered as part of a Victorian government-ordered child safety review, while a register of early childhood educators and a mobile phone ban in facilities will take effect in coming months.

1800 RESPECT (1800 737 732)

National Sexual Abuse and Redress Support Service 1800 211 028