Multiple cases of abuse of children in childcare centres underscored the need for parents to be allowed to choose how and where they spend government childcare subsidies, says Family First.
Sadly the appalling case of Joshua Dale Brown — charged with over 70 child sexual abuse offences against babies and toddlers while working at more than 20 childcare centres across Melbourne and Geelong — is not an isolated tragedy. It follows a pattern of similar horrors.
In 2023, Brisbane-based childcare worker Ashley Paul Griffith was convicted of over 300 offences involving 92 children across multiple centres in Queensland. In 2015, Shannon McCoole, a childcare worker and government employee in South Australia, was jailed for his role in leading an international child abuse ring called "The Love Zone". He used his job to access children and share exploitation material online.
As commentator and mother Virginia Tapscott points out, these are not "isolated incidents" — they are a damning indictment of a system that has failed to protect our most vulnerable.
Family First is renewing its calls for these subsidies to be paid directly to parents so they can choose the best care for their children — be it a stay-at-home parent, a grandparent, or an in-home carer. No family should be forced into institutional care for lack of options.
Tapscott rightly said:
"If we can't guarantee the safety of children in these institutions, we must ensure families aren't captive users of childcare."
Family First also backs income splitting for tax purposes, allowing couples to share their total income and be taxed at the average rate. For example, a single-income couple earning $100,000 would be taxed as if both earned $50,000—easing the financial burden on the parent who stays home and making family-based care a viable choice.
Together, direct funding and income splitting would restore fairness, dignity and freedom to families—and provide a safer environment for Australia's youngest children.
Efforts to improve safety at childcare centres were of course important and welcomed by Family First. But at the end of the day, parents should be given a choice.
Even if there was no risk of abuse in an institutional setting, many parents – particularly mothers – would prefer to stay at home with their infant.
Research published by the Alliance for Responsible Citizenship shows mother-child bonding in the 0-3 year-old age bracket is crucial to a child's development.
In her paper for ARC, psychoanalyst Erica Komisar says: "The first 1,000 days of a child's life lay the foundation for their personality, character, and emotional development. During this time, children need to form secure attachments to their primary caregiver, preferably their mother, so that they are able to cope with stress and become mentally healthy and emotionally stable adults".
Australia's one-size-fits-all approach to childcare subsidies and our anti-family tax system robs parents of this choice.
