Four Corners previews Monstrous childcare safety investigation on ABC – Four Corners returns to Australia’s childcare safety crisis with Monstrous, an investigation asking whether the sector’s recent crackdown can adequately protect children. The episode airs Monday 26 October at 8.30pm on ABC TV.
The program follows the Gold Walkley-winning team that previously exposed serious failures in childcare. Rather than treating new reforms as the end of the story, reporter Adele Ferguson tests what safeguards now exist – and where gaps may still leave children vulnerable.
What the investigation examines
Monstrous includes confronting CCTV footage of children being assaulted at a centre in far north Queensland. The case illustrates the consequences when safety standards and supervision fail. Viewers should be aware that the subject matter and images may be distressing.
The investigation also looks beyond one centre. Four Corners says it identified 473 services operating outside the National Quality Framework and therefore without the same national standards and scrutiny applied elsewhere in the system.
Ferguson’s reporting spans remote services and some large for-profit childcare chains. The episode asks whether the government is moving quickly enough to address known risks, and whether families can readily understand the level of oversight at the services they use.
A question for parents and policymakers
The central question is whether the current reform effort reaches all children, not only those in services already covered by the national framework. By placing the Queensland case alongside a wider count of services outside it, Four Corners brings a systemic dimension to a deeply personal issue for families.
Watch the Four Corners preview
Four Corners: Monstrous airs Monday 26 October 2026 at 8.30pm on ABC TV and is available through ABC iview. For more TV Central ABC coverage, head here, and see Four Corners on ABC iview.
