G8 Education chief executive Pejman Okhovat will give evidence on Tuesday to a Senate inquiry examining the quality and safety of Australia's early childhood education and care system.
He is expected to face questioning over child safety after former educator Joshua Dale Brown was charged with more than 70 sex offences against eight alleged victims aged under two between April 2022 and January 2023.
It has been revealed that G8 Education investigated Brown twice while he was employed at the company and while both incidents were substantiated, his working with children check was not revoked.
The inquiry was sparked by calls for reform after a series of high-profile scandals, including claims of sexual abuse, unnecessary restraints and low-quality meals in the sector.
Public hearings held in Brisbane on Monday heard that parents, faced with declining childcare safety standards and falling quality, needed alternative childcare options.
"One in four Australian children live in so-called childcare deserts," advocacy group For Parents co-founder Cecilia Cobb said.
"This means one in four children live in an area where there are three children for every available childcare place.
"The reality is that access to a childcare centre, let alone a high-quality centre, depends on your postcode."
Parents living in isolated regional areas were among the hardest impacted, Ms Cobbs said.
The lack of supply means thousands of Australian parents travelled "significant and unreasonable distances" to access childcare.
Others pay for unsubsidised care out of pocket, or are forced to decline work shifts until a place becomes available.
The group highlighted a family in regional Victoria where grandparents drove a six-hour round trip, twice a week, to care for their grandchild so the mother could work.
"I live in a childcare desert - I have no choice of centre," mother Elly wrote in her submission to the inquiry.
"My daughter is on three waitlists and has been since before she was even born."
While For Parents welcomed the crackdown on poor-quality services, Ms Cobbs said subsidised support should be available for registered carers, including nannies, au pairs and grandparents.
"Too many families are effectively locked into the traditional long day-care model, even when it doesn't suit their circumstances," she said.
"Shift workers, regional families, parents on 18-month waitlists, parents who have pulled their children out due to safety concerns - these families get zero government support because the only subsidised option doesn't work for them."
The inquiry is due to report back by the end of March.
1800 RESPECT (1800 737 732)
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