Overview

• Budget estimates heard that Busy Bees New Lambton failed to give first aid, monitor for concussion or file a report after a February 20, 2024 bathroom fall, with parents only told on March 13 when the child was hospitalised with a skull fracture.
• The hearing disclosed a regulator letter from July 2024 that threatened to cancel the centre’s approval to operate, though the outcome of that action remains unclear.
• Regulator records cited include 52 confirmed breaches, 23 serious incidents, 13 compliance actions and 14 complaints at the centre between 2020 and 2024.
• The centre was upgraded to ‘meeting quality standards’ in October 2022 and remains listed as meeting national standards despite the documented compliance history.
• Acting Minister Courtney Houssos said the regulator is constrained by national law from publishing compliance details and she outlined a push for national reform while leaving open a state-specific independent regulator with stronger powers; officials also described targeted visits to verify Working With Children Checks.