Sector Update 

Unsupervised five-year-old left on bus for 31 minutes

The Learning

The Education and Care Regulatory Unit (ECRU) has regularly issued communications to the education and care sector regarding inadequate supervision.  It is the responsibility of Approved Providers to ensure that all of their staff are aware of and follow their policies and procedures when it comes to supervising children and ensuring they are adequately supervised during school collections and excursions.

This is the 13th time a child has been left unsupervised in a vehicle over the last six years.  A child being left unsupervised in a service vehicle can have tragic consequences. 

The issue of children being left unsupervised on buses has improved since the introduction of new transport regulations on 1 March 2023. The incident below occurred prior to these changes coming into effect.

The Incident

A Department of Communities investigation found that in October 2022, a five-year old child was left unsupervised on a bus outside Garfields Learnaversity. The child was found by another parent when they attended the service to collect their child.

The child was left alone and unsupervised on the bus for 31 minutes and was visibly upset after the ordeal. This investigation also found that the service did not meet minimum staffing requirements and that the provider had failed to notify the Department that the incident had occurred.

The Penalty

The approved provider of Garfields Learnaversity in Australind has been ordered to pay a total of $31,000 by the State Administrative Tribunal (SAT) following investigations into the service after a child in their care was left unaccompanied on a bus. 

SAT ordered service provider Learnaversity Pty Ltd to pay:

• $15,000 for contravention of Section 165(1) of the Education and Care Service National Law (WA) Act 2012 (the National Law), for an offence relating to the inadequate supervision of a child.
• $ 7,500 for contravention of Section 167(1) of the National Law for an offence relating to the protection of children from harm and hazards.
• $ 2,500 for contravention of Section 169(2) of National Law for failing to meet the minimum requirements of the number of qualified staff working directly with children.
• $ 4,000 for their failure to notify the Regulatory Authority within the required timeframe that a serious incident had occurred at the service (Section 174(2)(a) of the National Law).