- Published:
- Tuesday 16 June 2026 at 10:05 am
The Victorian Early Childhood Regulatory Authority (VECRA) has issued an Emergency Action Notice to the approved provider of Woodlands St Kilda Road after finding children were at risk of significant harm due to faults with the fencing that allowed children to potentially access the level 12 roof edge.
The long day care service operates on the upper levels of a 13-level building in a busy area of inner Melbourne and is authorised to have up to 140 children on site.
VECRA’s action serves as a timely reminder to early childhood services that they must be vigilant about hazards in outdoor play areas, ensuring they adhere to their obligations under national law.
When visiting services across Victoria, VECRA’s authorised officers will check that all outdoor spaces used by children are enclosed by a fence that children of preschool age or under cannot go through, over or under. This includes ensuring that fences and barriers are fit for purpose and in good working order.
At an unannounced visit to Woodlands St Kilda Road, VECRA’s authorised officers determined that recent modifications had created the potential for children to access an outdoor balustrade on the 12th floor.
The outdoor space was enclosed by a fence or barrier that young children could get past. This meant young children were at risk of death or significant harm if they had reached the roof’s edge.
VECRA also found that the service was not prepared for an emergency evacuation, without plans for evacuating 14 children aged under 2 to the ground floor in an emergency.
As a result of these significant health and safety failings, VECRA has issued an Emergency Action Notice to the approved provider of Woodlands St Kilda Road and ordered closure of the rooftop outdoor play space area until rectification works are complete, including:
- Make immediate modifications to the level 12 rooftop outdoor space fence or barriers so it is of a height and design that young children cannot go through, over or under it.
- Ensure that a copy of the emergency and evacuation instructions are displayed in a prominent position near each exit on level 11.
- Review and update the Service’s emergency and evacuation policy and procedures if required and provide training to staff on any changes.
VECRA will be actively monitoring compliance with this notice, with further action under consideration given the seriousness of the breaches.
Failure to comply with the Emergency Action Notice may lead to prosecution. The maximum penalty is $20,400 in the case of an individual, or $103,200 in any other case.
Quotes attributable to Adam Fennessy PSM, Interim Early Childhood Regulator:
"Families expect their children will be safe and well at their local early childhood service. Woodlands St Kilda Road has put children at significant risk with unsafe fencing on a level 12 outdoor play area and inadequate emergency planning.”
“The safety, rights and best interests of children must be the paramount consideration for all early childhood education providers. 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.”
“Services must carefully consider and plan for what they will do in an emergency. In those situations, every second matters and it is critical for service providers to have a clear plan in place to ensure they are protecting the children in their care.”
“When the safety of children is put in danger, VECRA will not hesitate to take action against services that do the wrong thing.”
Background
Woodlands St Kilda Road can continue to operate while this Emergency Action Notice is in place but must immediately cease using the rooftop outdoor play space and modify that area to implement barriers of a height and design that children preschool age or under cannot go through, over or under it.
An Emergency Action Notice issued by VECRA is a binding compliance directive served on early childhood education and care providers. It is used when the regulator determines that a childcare service is operating in a way that poses or is likely to pose an immediate risk to the safety, health or wellbeing of children.
Media contact: vecra.media@education.vic.gov.au
Updated