A Brisbane childcare centre has been fined almost $15,000 after a three-year-old who left the grounds was collected by a passerby, despite the centre being told 20 minutes earlier the child was outside unsupervised.
The child slipped out of the Only About Children Morningside daycare centre unnoticed on June 23, 2023, and was noticed by a member of the public minutes later.
The person contacted the centre, which conducted a headcount to confirm the three-year-old had left.
A second call 20 minutes later from a passer-by confirmed the child had been picked up.
The second passer-by returned the child, who had been outside unsupervised for about 30 minutes.
Magistrate Lewis Shillito said it was “good luck, not good management” that the child wasn’t harmed.
Shillito said 30 minutes was a lengthy period for a three-year-old to be without an adult, adding that the child had crossed roads while alone outside the grounds.
Only About Children Morningside is on Thynne Road, across the street from the Morningside Police Station and about 400 metres from Wynnum Road.
The centre has been running for almost 50 years – previously operating as Puss In Boots Early Childhood Learning Centre – and was acquired by Only About Children in 2021.
The Education Department’s Early Childhood Regulatory Authority took the company to court for failing to adequately supervise and protect children from harm and hazards, and for allowing a child to leave the grounds.
Shillito said Only About Children had accepted responsibility for the incident.
He ordered the company to pay a fine of $14,500 alongside $2500 in the state’s legal costs.
Only About Children was contacted for comment.
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