The NSW Early Learning Commission has this week ordered multiple services across NSW to stop operating due to an unacceptable risk posed to children.
The Commission's role is to ensure approved providers of early childhood education and care services in NSW meet their obligations to provide services that are safe for children and are of high quality.
The cancellations issued include the service approval for the early learning service at Lycee Condorcet Sydney – The International French School and the provider approval for Great Western Family Day Care. These cancellations are due to persistent poor quality, repeated non-compliance with the National Law and Regulations and unacceptable risk posed to children.
Early childhood education and care provider Lycee Condorcet Sydney operates an early learning service on the grounds of an independent school of the same name in Maroubra. The service has never met the National Quality Standard and has been issued seven compliance actions and had 42 breaches of the National Law since 2024.
Great Western Family Day Care has consistently demonstrated poor overall management and governance by the approved provider, which has not been sufficient to meet the standards required under the National Quality Framework. Since 2018, the service has been issued a total of 11 compliance actions and there have been 411 confirmed breaches of the National Law across all educators providing care under their service approval.
As these cancellations have been issued on the grounds of unacceptable risk to children, there is no external review option available through the NSW Civil and Administrative Tribunal due to nation-leading reform in NSW which embeds the paramountcy principle of child safety in law.
Both cancellations are effective from 6 March 2026, and the NSW Early Learning Commission has advised families of the cancellation and reasons for the closure. The NSW Early Learning Commission will be closely monitoring these services, including by conducting unannounced visits until the closure date.
Fairytales Preschool and Long Day Care Centre in Carlingford has been issued with an immediate suspension this week, requiring them to immediately stop delivering education and care. This came after a number of serious non-compliance and safety concerns were identified, with investigations into the service continuing.
Concerns at Fairytales leading to the immediate suspension included the service using CCTV to conduct sleep and rest checks on children, failure to maintain and follow policies and procedures, failure to make mandatory reports and failure to comply with the new Ministerial Direction on electronic devices.
