Child Care

Managing a diverse range of workplace relations related issues including:

• Advising a childcare centre in a matter involving a pregnant employee who was unable to perform all of her duties.
• Assisting an employer to negotiate an enforceable undertaking in relation to alleged under payment of wages with the Fair Work Ombudsman.
• Defending a childcare employer’s decision to terminate an employee due to poor performance and misconduct in an unfair dismissal claim.
• Defending a child care centre operator and owner in a bullying claim made by a current employee.
• Defending a child care centre in a general protections dispute claim in the Federal Court.

Managing and advising on a range of matters falling within national childcare laws and regulations including:

• Defending prosecutions of Approved Providers (and their directors) and Nominated Supervisors by the Department of Education concerning breaches of the National Framework legislation including negotiating breaches, pleas and penalties.
• Assisting centres with investigations by JIRT, ACECQA and Departments of Education and other like government bodies concerning alleged non compliances and breaches.
• Representing numerous family day care services in responses to Notices of Intention to Cancel CCB Approvals, applications for internal reviews of cancellation decisions.
• Advising a large child care provider on the regulation of advertising education and care services.
• Advising a large out of school hours provider on the operation of CCB and CCR rebates.
• Assisting a child care centre in an application for internal review of refusal to increase child numbers on the service approval.

Addressing internal and external reviews of government decisions including:

• Representing a family day care service in an external review (Administrative Appeal Tribunal) of a decision to cancel a provider approval for breaches of the Education and Care Services National Law and National Regulations found during monitoring visits – cancellation successfully reversed.
• Representing a person with management and control of suspended family day care service whose working with children check was returned negative as a result of non-compliances found during monitoring visit – external review by Queensland Civil and Administrative Tribunal.

Managing a range of corporate, commercial and transactional matters including:

• Conducting due diligence on commercial, leasing and employment matters for a large child care operator seeking to acquire a number of new centres.
• Undertaking legal due diligence for a child care operator seeking to acquire multiple new child care centres in a simultaneous transaction.

Defending a diverse range of claims on behalf of childcare centres including:

• A claim against a child care centre by an employee who, while working at the centre, allegedly contracted a virus resulting in catastrophic injuries to her child in utero.
• Representing an employer and a senior staff member of a child care centre in a racial discrimination claim made by parents of child.