Childcare centre charged after infants found roaming in lift, out near busy road and trapped in a bathroom

A young child has been discovered roaming near a busy road after wandering into a childcare centre lift unsupervised, according to a regulatory watchdog.

Woodlands St Kilda Road, located across three upper levels of a 13-storey inner city building in Melbourne, has been charged with 15 offences by the Victorian Early Childhood Regulatory Authority.

The centre is accused of serious supervision and safety breaches across three separate alleged incidents in which children aged between 22 months and five years were allegedly left unsupervised and exposed to risk of injury and harm.

During one alleged incident, a young child left the centre via a goods lift which travelled several floors to the tower’s loading dock.

The child then left the building on the ground floor and wandered to the building’s forecourt, fronting St Kilda Road – a busy four-lane tram, bicycle and car thoroughfare in and out of Melbourne’s CBD.

A worker from a different business inside the building discovered the child and returned them to the centre.

Another child also allegedly entered the lift unsupervised and travelled to another floor of the building after straying from the centre’s rooftop playground unsupervised. They were found by administrative staff of Woodlands.

In a third alleged incident, a child became trapped in a male staff bathroom for 30 minutes after wandering in unobserved before the door closed behind them.

The child was found crying on the bathroom floor by staff.

If proven guilty of all charges, Woodlands St Kilda could face a maximum penalty of up to $1.4million.

‘These are serious charges against Woodlands St Kilda,’ Early Childhood Regulator Wendy Steendam said.

‘We allege they have failed in their fundamental obligation to keep children safe and away from potential harms – requirements that are especially critical in multi-storey buildings with lifts and multiple tenants.’

The three-year-old centre, which is licensed to care for 140 babies, toddlers and kinder-aged children, boasts a rooftop playground fit with a real light aircraft which was craned into the top floor of the building.

In June, the centre was issued with an emergency action notice by the regulator after an unannounced visit by compliance officers found children could potentially get past a barrier to access the level 12 roof’s edge.

‘Had any child gone through, over or under the fence on the 12th floor, the consequences for them could have been catastrophic – it is unacceptable that the service was putting children at risk,’ interim regulator Adam Fennessy said at the time. 

Woodlands Childcare and Education operates eight childcare and kindergarten centres across Melbourne, according to its website, with plans for seven other locations.

Woodlands Childcare and Education has been contacted for comment.