New safety measures should help reduce risk of offences

The IEU is shocked and saddened by the extent of the alleged offending by Sydney childcare worker Hamish Alexander Edward Tait.

The Australian Federal Police has named the 62 childcare and early education centres, mainly in north-western Sydney, where Tait worked or attended between 2009 and 2025. He has been in custody since July 2025.

The police have laid 329 charges against Tait, alleging he abused 158 children. The Sydney Morning Herald in July reported that if found guilty, Tait will have abused more children than any other childcare worker in the country’s history.

“It’s hard to comprehend the children’s suffering and the distress parents would be feeling,” said IEUA NSW/ACT Branch Secretary Carol Matthews.

“The IEU supports measures introduced by state and federal governments over the past year aimed at improving safety to ensure children are safe at all times and parents can have confidence in the sector.”

The new child safety measures include:

  • a ban on personal devices in centres such as mobile phones and iPads
  • the establishment of a National Early Childhood Worker Register
  • regular reviews of employees’ Working With Children Checks
  • mandatory child safety training
  • increased focus on staffing ratios.

''It’s hard to comprehend the children’s suffering and the distress parents would be feeling.''

More staff means greater safety

The IEU has repeatedly called for clear guidelines to ensure that a member of staff is never left alone unsupervised with a child.

“Taken together, these measures should help decrease the risk of offences such as those alleged in this case from occurring again,” Matthews said.

“We must all work together to ensure this never happens again.”

Matthews spoke to Nine News reporter Damian Ryan about the horrific alleged offences and new child safety measures implemented over the past 12 months.

“Services should have measures in place so that all staff are absolutely aware about the [child safety] risks,” she said.

Matthews also spoke to ABC Illawarra Drive Host Stefan Posthuma about lifting quality in the sector by improving pay and conditions.

Matthews said university-educated early childhood teachers were “still earning significantly less” than their colleagues in primary schools even though they have the same qualifications.

“Stable employment really assists with ensuring that child safety is maintained,” she said.

“Employing highly skilled, experienced staff and less use of casuals – these are features of high-functioning, safe services that provide consistency of care.”