An Australian childcare centre and three of its staff have been charged following the heartbreaking death of 22-month-old Ebony Thompson, who died in an accidental hanging after being left unsupervised for several minutes.
The Humpty Doo Community and Child Care Centre, near Darwin, along with three nominated supervisors, faces charges laid by the Northern Territory Education Department for failing to adequately supervise children and protect them from harm. Both offences fall under section 165 of the National Education and Care Services legislation, carrying heavy financial penalties if proven.
Ebony was found blue and unresponsive after becoming trapped between the loops of a 90-centimetre-high pool-style gate leading to a chicken coop. NT Coroner Elisabeth Armitage later determined the toddler suffered irreversible brain damage after attempting to peer at the chickens and slipping, in what she described as a “systemic failure on the part of the centre and QECNT”.
Armitage’s report revealed Ebony had been unaccounted for about ten minutes in a known playground blind spot. “Ebony was entrapped for four minutes or more,” she said. “When she was found, her injury was catastrophic and unsurvivable.”
Early Education Minister Jo Hersey said it was the first time childcare staff in the NT had been charged, describing the tragedy as a sobering reminder that “child safety must come first”.
“My thoughts are with the family who live with the loss of their daughter Ebony every single day,” she said.
Hersey confirmed an overhaul of the territory’s childcare regulatory authority, warning centres not meeting national standards could soon face funding cuts.
Ebony’s grieving family have called for loop-style pool fencing to be banned nationwide and for tougher penalties, including a “three-strike” rule for centres that breach supervision duties, in the hope that no other family endures the same devastating loss.
Images: NT Coroner’s Office
