Updated ,first published
A childcare centre in Melbourne’s west where alleged paedophile Joshua Dale Brown briefly worked will be shut for months after authorities revoked its licence due to serious child safety failures.
Milestones Early Learning Werribee, owned by the Affinity Education group, has had its service approval suspended for 90 days after the Victorian Early Childhood Regulatory Authority (VECRA) officers identified a range of “serious and concerning” examples of non-compliance.
The authority said babies had been left unsupervised in a room at the Werribee daycare, and that inspectors had found ripped and torn furniture, exposed broken gates, peeling paint, electrical cords and hazardous power cord arrangements posing a danger to children.
VECRA also alleged that the centre’s management failed to notify the authority of the incidents, in breach of its legal obligations.
The new independent regulatory authority, which took over in January, found that at a compliance check, numerous issues had not been fixed and new issues had arisen, including unsafe sleep practices for babies and failures to follow policies and procedures.
The childcare sector was plunged into crisis mid-2025 when former care worker Joshua Dale Brown was charged with alleged child sex abuse. Brown faces 156 charges, including transmitting child abuse material.
Brown worked at 23 early learning services, 13 of which were owned by Affinity, including Milestones Early Learning Centre in Werribee from August 14, 2024 to August 16, 2024.
It’s alleged Brown contaminated children’s food with bodily fluids which prompted unprecedented STI testing for kids at affected centres. His case returns to the Melbourne Magistrates’ Court on April 21.
At a Victorian parliamentary inquiry into the childcare sector in late February, Affinity chief executive Glen Hurley – who took over leadership in October – insisted safety was paramount to the for-profit provider despite its centres being among those where Brown worked.
At the inquiry, Hurley said 2025 was “the lowest point” for the sector and for Affinity.
The inquiry’s interim report, released on March 31, found the rapid rise of the for-profit sector had “shifted the focus from children’s safety to profit, further stretching systems and undermining both child safety and quality”.
Committee chair Anasina Gray‑Barberio said the inquiry has “heard unequivocal evidence that stronger stewardship is required at both the Victorian and national levels to ensure that safety, quality and accountability are not optional, but guaranteed, across the sector”.
But the VECRA report released Tuesday into Milestones Early Learning Werribee still showed non-compliance at one of its centres.
It said while Affinity Education Group had addressed some of the regulators’ concerns, there continued to be “significant compliance issues that put the health, safety and wellbeing of children at risk”.
And it believed that it would “not be in the best interests of children being educated and cared for by the service for the service to continue”.
The authority said it was “simply not satisfied that Affinity Education Group has the necessary management and oversight mechanisms in place at this service to ensure that the non-compliances identified will not happen again”.
Interim early childhood regulator Adam Fennessy said parents deserved to have peace of mind that their children were safe and well cared for in early learning services.
“This service was put on notice due to its child safety practices, yet it failed to address these concerns around the health, well-being, and safety of children in its care,” he said.
“We will not hesitate to take strong action against any service that puts children’s safety at risk. This includes suspending them until we are satisfied that they can provide the safe and high-quality level of care that they are legally required to do.”
If Affinity doesn’t comply, the company could face cancellation of the service approval or face prosecution, with maximum penalties of $1,034,100.
An Affinity Education Group spokesperson said the centre would temporarily close from April 13, and apologised for the disruption it would cause families and educators. She said Affinity was working with families to support alternative care arrangements at nearby centres until it could reopen.
“Affinity acknowledges that this outcome falls short of both regulatory expectations and the standards we set for our centres,” she said.
Before the suspension, Affinity had already taken a number of steps to improve practices at the centre, with 90 per cent of remediation activity complete, including revised room layouts to strengthen supervision and repairs completed to equipment and facilities.
She said they had also done remedial training and refresher courses on appropriate policies and practices at the centre.
“More work, however, clearly needs to be done and further remediation work is underway, and we will work closely with the regulator while this is completed,” she said.
“The safety, wellbeing, and continued access to quality care for children remains our highest priority.”
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Nicole Precel is an education reporter at The Age. She was previously an audio video producer. She is also a documentary maker. Get in touch at nicole.precel@theage.com.auConnect via X, Facebook or email.
