00:00It's promoted as a bustling childcare company, but a Genius childcare centre in Gungahlin
00:08will soon fall quiet, slapped with a two-week suspension.
00:13The centre will be closed from this Thursday, 20 February, after 11 reports of child health
00:19and safety breaches in less than a year.
00:22Reports on top of eight at Genius's Gowery Centre, seven at Simonston, six at Conda and
00:28three at Bonython.
00:30The regulator, Seeker, says the suspension is in the best interest of children and will
00:35compel the company to comply with the national law.
00:39If Seeker is not satisfied that the provider will be compliant, further regulatory action
00:44may be taken.
00:46Genius told the ABC it's cooperating with Seeker to review and enhance its practices.
00:52We report concerns as they arise.
00:54This can range from minor incidents, such as a scratch, to more significant matters
00:58like reducing hours or closing the centre due to staffing arrangements.
01:03Affected families have been offered spots at Genius's Simonston Centre, 25km away.
01:10Details about the breaches are not made public, but educators are facing another long-running
01:15battle of their own to get paid on time.
01:19The Gungahlin Centre was closed for three days last week because educators refused to
01:24work without pay.
01:27We're worried about bills.
01:28How can you do your best and do your work if you can't have the basic things you're
01:32expecting from the company?
01:33It's really concerning to see that Seeker couldn't act until now and it seems it's an
01:37issue with the national law around how childcare is regulated.
01:41The regulations are really focused only on children's health and safety and wellbeing
01:45and so when you've got issues that fall outside that scope, like educators not being paid
01:49on time, that doesn't fall within Seeker's role to step in.
01:53It's not the first time Genius has been in hot water.
01:56A centre it runs in South Australia will reopen tomorrow after it was issued with an Emergency
02:03Action Notice last month over a spate of alleged issues, including cleanliness.
02:09Seeker said it can cancel an ACT childcare service if it doesn't become compliant after
02:14suspension.
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