The charging of a worker accused of filming the abuse of 10 children at six Sydney centres is another alarm bell on the booming but under-regulated Australian childcare industry.

David James’ alleged paedophilia was reported to police and the regulator last year after he had been hired through recruitment agency Randstad and worked at 58 different outside school hours care (OSHC) services across Sydney. The 26-year-old was suspended after a colleague reported witnessing him inappropriately touching a child under 10 at a Primary OSHCare, a service owned by Junior Adventures Group.

Incredibly, James remained on the agency’s books and was employed by other providers on a casual basis.

The Sydney case has thrust private equity firm Quadrant into the centre of another childcare scandal. The

© The Sydney Morning Herald