Concerns about reputation or legal risks may deter individuals from raising concerns within the childcare sector, a review of the worker dubbed Australia’s worst paedophile has found.
An interim report into Queensland childcare worker Ashley Paul Griffith, who was sentenced to life in prison last year for sexually abusing 73 young girls in Brisbane and Italy, also said the state’s system for protecting children from abuse “may result in a false sense of security”.
According to the report by the Queensland Child Death Review Board, Griffith “met all requirements to obtain and maintain a Blue Card” – the state’s working with children check system – until his arrest on 1,623 charges of child abuse.
The board, which is part of the Queensland Family and Child Commission, was ordered to conduct an inquiry in December.
In its June update the commission said that concerns about “reputation” or “a fear of defamation and legal risks to organisations and individuals” may act as a deterrent to raising concerns within the childcare sector.
The complaint process can also be unclear, particularly where the person subject to a complaint holds a senior role within a centre or may otherwise be involved in the investigation of a complaint, the report said.
The inquiry found that more than one complaint was made about Griffith to his employers, the Early Childhood Regulatory Authority and the Queensland police.
“Of these complaints, the available information suggests they were not always progressed, and information was not shared between agencies. Prior complaints made to QPS did not proceed to prosecution,” the inquiry’s interim report said.
“This meant that up until the time of the offender’s arrest in 2022, there were no pending investigations, charges or convictions against him, and he met all requirements to obtain and maintain a Blue Card.”
In 2021, childcare centre manager Yolanda Borucki, who worked at the same Uniting Church facility as Griffith, helped report him to authorities, but police and the centre rejected the allegations after an investigation.
The report warned that Queensland’s blue card system is “a reactive tool and is unable to identify people who have not previously been detected for offending behaviours”.
“A lack of understanding of the limitations of the Blue Card system may result in a false sense of security in organisations where workers hold a Blue Card.”
Queensland has one of the world’s leading police units dedicated to tracking down online child sex abuse, Taskforce Argos.
It was the squad that ultimately detected Griffith’s offending in 2022.
Prior to this, other elements of the police had investigated and discounted complaints against Griffith, whose earliest offending took place in 2007.
Australia has been criticised as having among the world’s weakest programs for child abuse prevention. Some recommendations from the 2017 royal commission into child sexual abuse have yet to be implemented.
The Queensland attorney general, Deb Frecklington, ordered the board to investigate “system responses to child sexual abuse and make recommendations for any necessary improvements to the laws, policies, procedures and practices across the early childhood education and care, police and the blue card systems”.
According to its June update, the board has issued 14 information requests and received more than 17,000 pages of material and 36 hours of video footage and audio recordings from investigations conducted after Griffith’s offending was detected. It has also received four final reports from leading academic institutions studying the issue, and has convened an expert roundtable.
It is scheduled to issue its final report later this year.
In Australia, children, young adults, parents and teachers can contact the Kids Helpline on 1800 55 1800, or Bravehearts on 1800 272 831, and adult survivors can contact Blue Knot Foundation on 1300 657 380. The crisis support service Lifeline is 13 11 14. In an emergency, call 000. International helplines can be found via www.befrienders.org
