In the case of CEO of Department of Communities and Bayswater Child Care Association Inc t/as Morley Out of School Care an order was made by the WA State Administrative Tribunal which gave effect to the terms of settlement in relation to a matter brought before the Tribunal by the WA Regulator (Department of Communities). In this case, after school, an 8 year old child arrived at the service and was sighted and signed in by educators. The child then told educators they needed to use the bathroom and took themselves there unsupervised. After several minutes staff noticed the child had not returned from the bathroom and were unable to locate them, contacting the parents and police. Staff from school assisted in searching for the child and located them in a nearby house of a friend known to the child. School staff collected the child from the home and returned the child to the service. The child was unsupervised by service staff for 30 minutes.
The Approved Provider was ordered to pay $12,000 for contravening section 165(1), National Law. Additionally, the Approved Provider was ordered to pay $2,500 towards the Department's legal costs. The Department issued a medial release in relation to this case.
In Western Australia, uniquely, such matters as this are generally heard as disciplinary matters under the National Law (WA), see the article by David Oliver in The Sector that explains the process in detail.
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