The operator of a former Tullamarine childcare centre was found guilty last week of underpaying his employees $137,000 over two years.
Allan Coman, the sole director of Wonderkindy Port Melbourne (WPM) and Wonderkindy Tullamarine, which closed down two years ago, withheld the money from 114 employees by failing to pay their wages and entitlements.
Mr Coman entered into an enforceable undertaking with the Fair Work Ombudsman, which had been investigating the case for more than two years after receiving 33 complaints, and publicly committed to complying with workplace laws in future.
A former employee at the Port Melbourne centre, Keryn, said some employees had not been paid for months.
“[Mr Coman] continuously said he’d put [the money in my account], but it hadn’t cleared,” she said.
“At one point I told him I was leaving because I hadn’t been paid and he gave me a small portion of cash to keep me there. It wasn’t even the whole amount of my wage.”
She also alleged that conditions at the centre were not ideal.
“It was pretty bad,” she said. “There weren’t even paint brushes and I had to buy some with my own money.
“Parents were paying $105 for a day, but we were just basically babysitting.”
Star Weekly understands Wonderkindy Port Melbourne was also found to be one of the worst-performing childcare providers in the country.
A spokeswoman for the Australian Children’s Education and Care Quality Authority, Marnie Stitz, said the centre received a “significant improvement needed” result under the National Quality Framework (NQF) for childcare centres.
“A ‘significant improvement required’ is given when [childcare centres] don’t meet one of the seven qualities, or a section of the legislation, and there is an unacceptable risk to the well-being of children,” she said.
The Tullamarine centre’s licence to operate a childcare was revoked in September 2012 before the Education Department could assess the quality under the NQF.
There were no children or staff at the centre at the time.
