Child sex charges prompt urgent safety review

OVERVIEW

* An urgent review into child safety has been ordered by the Victorian government after childcare worker Joshua Dale Brown was charged with more than 70 sex offences against children

* Extra safety measures announced include a ban on phone use and professional registration of childcare workers due to come into force within months

* Families urged to have their children tested for infectious diseases can access $5000 in financial support

* Brown, 26, is accused of assaulting eight infants aged between five months to two years during his time at a Point Cook childcare centre in April 2022 to January 2023, and worked at a total of 20 centres over his career

* On Tuesday it was revealed another man, Michael Simon Wilson, appeared in court on the same day as Brown charged with child abuse material, sex offences and bestiality

* Any alleged connection between the two men is unknown and authorities have not commented on Wilson's case

CHANGES ANNOUNCED ON WEDNESDAY

* A Victorian register of childcare workers and educators will be created, after calls for a similar register as that in place for teachers

* All Victorian childcare centres must ban the use of personal mobile phones from September 26 or face fines of up to $50,000

* The Victorian government has commissioned an urgent review into childcare safety to identify what actions can be taken immediately, due to be completed by August 15

* The review will consider making CCTV mandatory in childcare centres

* Payments of $5000 will be available for 1200 families who have been told to take their children for infectious diseases testing due to their attendance at centres where Brown worked. The payments are intended to cover the cost of taking time off work, travel, counselling and other needs

HOW AND WHEN WAS THE ALLEGED ABUSE PICKED UP?

* Police launched an investigation in May after child abuse material was discovered, but have not officially released further details about how Brown became a suspect or how the material was uncovered

* Victorian Minister for Children Lizzie Blandthorn said she was notified of the police investigation two weeks ago and federal Education Minister Jason Clare said he was notified last week

* A suppression order on Brown's charges was lifted on Tuesday when the Victorian premier and senior police released details of the criminal investigation

EMERGING ISSUES

* Changes to working with children checks will be discussed at the next meeting of state and territory attorneys-general following calls to overhaul the security screenings from leading advocates for children and sexual assault victim survivors

* The Greens have ramped up calls for a royal commission into the early childhood sector

* A national childcare safety crackdown is already under way with the first stage focusing on stricter recommendations for photography, filming and mandatory reporting rules

REACTION

* "Too many families here in our state are suffering unbearable pain" - Victorian Premier Jacinta Allan

* "We need to make sure that our working with children check system is up to scratch" - Federal Education Minister Jason Clare

* "We want to know who is working with children right across the country and when people move between states, we want to know where they've come from and where they're going" - Victorian Children's Minister Lizzie Blandthorn

* "We have to move legislation to block that loophole to ensure that if a working with children's check has been denied, it stays denied, because when it comes to the safety of children, it's a one strike policy. We can't have any ambiguity here" - NSW Premier Chris Minns

* "We have our own working with vulnerable card, and I am more than willing to engage in a national conversation about a national working with vulnerable people card, if that delivers safety and better protection for our children" - Tasmania Premier Jeremy Rockliff