A Perth childcare service has been ordered to pay a penalty of $20,000 after leaving a young girl alone at the zoo.


On January 27, a four-year-old girl was among the participants of an off-site excursion organised by childcare service provider Como OSHClub at the Perth Zoo.

There were a total of forty-four children on the trip, all wearing brightly coloured vests and yellow wristbands, with the phone number of the childcare service provider written on it. Six supervisors were present to keep watch of the children.

However, during their trip to the meerkat exhibit, the four-year-old girl was separated from the group and was left alone for about half an hour, leaving her in emotional distress.

The educators handling the excursion did not realise the child was missing from the group.

It was the little girl’s first day at the service, and she was not familiar with the service staff, the other children, or the zoo.

Thankfully, a member of the public found her near the meerkat exhibit and brought her back to the group.

An investigation from the Department of Communities found that Como OSHClub failed to perform its responsibility of ensuring the safety and wellbeing of children under its care.

“The child’s absence had not been noticed until the member of the public called,” said the State Administrative Tribunal in its ruling this month.

“The educator leading the group of children did not conduct a headcount before the children entered and left the meerkat exhibit.”

The childcare service was fined $20,000 for the incident and another $2,000 for costs to the Department of Communities.

Phil Payne, Executive Director, Regulation and Quality, Department of Communities, said: “This incident demonstrates how a number of seemingly innocuous factors can combine to contribute to a lapse in supervision.”

“Off-site excursions are a high-risk activity, and supervision policies and procedures must be robust and include frequent headcounts to ensure all children are accounted for.”

According to the SAT, Como OSHClub already took necessary actions after the incident, including implementing new procedures around excursions, a review of supervision risk assessments, and additional staff training.

This incident was the fourth time the childcare service provider had been before the State Administrative Tribunal.