A Department of Communities investigation found that in October 2022, a five-year old child was left on a bus outside the approved providers service, Garfields Learnaversity. The child was found by another parent when they attended the service to collect their child. The child was left alone and unsupervised on the bus for 31 minutes.
The approved provider was ordered to pay $15,000.00 by the State Administrative Tribunal for contravening Section 165(1) of the Education and Care Service National Law (WA) Act 2012, for an offence relating to the inadequate supervision of a child.
The service provider must pay $7,500.00 for contravening Section 167(1) of the Education and Care Service National Law (WA) Act 2012 for an offence relating to the protection of children from harm and hazards.
This investigation also found that the service did not meet minimum staffing requirements and that the provider failed to notify the Department that the incident had occurred.
As such the approved provider has been ordered to pay $2,500.00 for contravening Section 169(2) of the Education and Care Service National Law (WA) Act 2012 for failing to meet the minimum requirements of the number of qualified staff working directly with children, and must also pay a penalty of $4,000.00 for their failure to notify the Regulatory Authority that a serious incident had occurred at the service, within the required timeframe S174(2)(a).
Quotes from Phil Payne, Executive Director, Regulation and Quality, Department of Communities:
“Inadequate supervision continues to be a major concern within the education and care sector, despite numerous media releases and notifications sent directly to approved providers and services by the Department. These notifications warn of the dangers when children are left in locked vehicles and offer support by providing advice on how to prevent incidents like this from occurring.
“This incident occurred prior to the introduction of new transport regulations on 1 March 2023. These changes aim to reduce the risk of children being accidentally left inside vehicles and have been implemented to assist service providers in ensuring that all their staff are aware of and follow their policies and procedures when it comes to supervising children and ensuring they are adequately supervised during school collections and excursions.”
