To the Hon. Alison Marchant MP, the Premier of Victoria, and the Victorian Government.

We, the undersigned residents of Victoria, call on our state government to urgently reform the Working With Children Check (WWCC) system and strengthen safety regulations in all early childhood education and care settings.

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Trigger warning — SA

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The recent arrest of Joshua Dale Brown, a 26-year-old childcare worker from Point Cook, Victoria, has horrified the state. Brown has been charged with over 70 child sex offences, including sexual penetration of a child, producing child abuse material, and recklessly contaminating food with bodily fluids.

His alleged crimes occurred while working at Creative Garden Early Learning Centre Point Cook and police have since confirmed he worked at 20 different childcare centres across Victoria between 2017 and 2025.

Brown passed all required background checks, including a valid Working With Children Check, and was able to move between multiple centres undetected. The Victorian Department of Health and Victoria Police have now urged more than 2,600 families to seek medical testing for their children — an unthinkable and absolutely violating situation for any parent or child.

This is not an isolated failure — these types of offences happen far more frequently than the public is told. Many never reach the media. Our young children cannot speak for themselves — they rely on us and on the preventative systems we build, to keep them safe.

In recent years, multiple high-profile childcare abuse cases have exposed catastrophic failures in safeguarding systems, such as:

Ashley Paul Griffith (QLD/NSW): 1,623 offences against 91 children across childcare centres in Brisbane, Sydney, and overseas — despite having passed all required checks.

Joshua Dale Brown (VIC): Over 70 charges while working at 20 centres across Melbourne. Allegedly contaminated food with bodily fluids and abused infants as young as five months old.

Michael Simon Wilson (VIC): Linked to Brown’s case. Charged with child rape and abuse material.

NSW Case (2020): Two offenders — including a childcare worker — convicted of 354 child abuse offences against 30 victims.

The above are only a couple of the cases that reached headlines. Many more remain hidden, unreported or suppressed. Our current systems are reactive — not preventative.

We need real change now, before more children are harmed under the illusion of protection. Enough is enough.

We are demanding the following urgent reforms:

1. Annual Working With Children Check (WWCC) Renewals for all childcare and education workers in contact with children under 16 years of age.

The current five-year WWCC cycle is dangerously outdated. All childcare and education workers must be required to renew their WWCC every 12 months to ensure criminal and professional records are consistently up to date.

2. Mandatory Re-Checks When Changing Centres or schools

Any worker beginning employment at a new childcare or education facility must undergo a fresh WWCC verification, even if their card is still current. This empowers employers to verify the most recent information directly and independently.

3. Real-Time Alert System for WWCC Suspensions and Revocations

A centralised digital system must notify all current employers if a WWCC is suspended, revoked, or under review. No employer should ever be left in the dark while a worker is under active investigation.

4. CCTV in High-Risk Areas

The government should pilot CCTV monitoring in agreed-upon childcare areas such as playrooms, kitchens, and common spaces to provide an additional layer of transparency, protection and accountability.

Children are the most vulnerable members of our society. They are our future generation and their safety must be protected at all costs. The trauma and violation experienced by even one child under care is one too many. So many families have been impacted by these monstrous events — this must end here and we must do better.

As community members, educators, and parents, we are urging you to lead this reform now - not after another tragedy. The current system failed and this is not the first time. We owe it to every family to make sure it doesn't happen again.

We must actively protect our children at all costs. We can no longer allow these predators to hide behind flawed systems, like the cowards that they are. We must stand between them and our children, continuing to close the doors that they walk through unnoticed.

We must raise our voices and push for the systems that are designed to protect our children, to no longer be a shield to the monsters hiding in plain sight — they must know that we are watching and we will not stay silent. 

Please sign and share this petition.

Sincerely,

The Undersigned