Overview

• A one-year-old was mistakenly handed to a grandparent at First Steps Learning Academy in Bangor and spent several hours with the wrong family before being returned after staff reviewed CCTV and called parents.
• The NSW Early Childhood Education and Care Regulatory Authority has opened a thorough investigation that will consider the service’s compliance history, and the educator involved has been stood down; NSW Police detected no offences.
• First Steps called the lapse human error, apologised to families and introduced measures including verification cards with photos, controlled entry via a doorbell, a staffed foyer at pick-up, and extra personnel during collection times.
• ABC reporting reveals separate regulator inquiries at First Steps centres, including a Kirrawee anaphylaxis case that was substantiated and prior supervision concerns at Bangor, while the Brisbane Times reports a Liverpool incident where a three-year-old reached a busy road that remains under investigation.
• Former staff and parents describe high turnover and reliance on casual workers across the provider’s sites, even as centres are rated as meeting national standards, adding to scrutiny of transparency and safety reforms such as proposed CCTV trials.