Education and care provider, Kidz Biz Sport & Recreation Care – Beaumaris, has been ordered to pay a penalty of $18,000 plus $2,000 in costs by the State Administrative Tribunal (SAT) after a 4-year-old boy left the service premises unsupervised.
The boy was unsupervised and outside of the service area for approximately 15 minutes before being found some 400 metres away at his grandmother’s home. The boy would have had to cross busy roads in order to arrive at that location.
It was determined the incident, which occurred on 13 February 2025, exposed the child to unacceptable risks whilst outside of the service.
A Department of Communities (Communities) investigation found that the provider had breached the Education and Care Services National Law (Western Australia) by failing to adequately supervise a child in their care.
More information on the SAT order is available on the eCourts website.
Quotes from Angelo Barbaro, Executive Director, Regulation and Quality, Department of Communities:
“Western Australia continues to be one of the strongest education and care regulators in the country, with powerful compliance tools available to the Department of Communities’ Education and Care Regulatory Unit (ECRU) that we will use when disciplinary action is necessary.
“This SAT decision reinforces the fact that there are significant consequences when providers fail to meet their legal obligations and continue to put children in their care at risk.
“Inadequate supervision within the education and care services sector continues to be a significant concern for ECRU.
“Despite ECRU providing ongoing information and support to the sector regarding the importance of active supervision, we continue to see cases where inadequate supervision has put children at risk.
“Even a momentary lapse of supervision can significantly increase the risk of harm to children.
“It is incredibly fortunate that this child was located safely and unharmed, particularly given the distance he travelled and the busy roads he navigated to arrive at his grandmother’s home.
“We urge approved providers to ensure constant, adequate supervision to keep children safe and to avoid being penalised.”
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