Childcare worker charged with 329 offences after 16-year abuse spree
Hamish Tait, a 35-year-old Sydney-based childcare practitioner, has been charged with 329 offences over the alleged abuse of 136 children across multiple nurseries and childcare centres. The abuse is alleged to have occurred over a 16-year period, from 2009 to 2025.
Tait was arrested last year but has only now been publicly identified after police sought a court order on July 13 to uncover further victims. He remains in custody.
Details of the charges
The charges include 162 counts of producing child abuse material, 81 counts of filming a person engaged in a private act without consent, 22 counts of aggravated use of a child under 14 for the production of child abuse material, and 18 counts of intentionally sexually touching a child under 10 years.
Australian Federal Police (AFP) confirmed they have contacted 121 families affected by the alleged offending but are still working to identify 22 victims.
Centres involved and investigation efforts
Officers confirmed that Tait worked at or attended more than 55 early years education facilities across Sydney between 2009 and 2025, predominantly in the city's north-west. The alleged abuse occurred at five facilities, including four Fit Kidz childcare centres and his own business, Wild Earthlings Glenorie.
Police have launched a dedicated website listing the centres where he worked to help identify further victims and provide support. AFP Acting Commander Luke Needham stated: "Any form of child sexual abuse is confronting and horrific, even more so when the alleged perpetrator is an individual trusted with the care of our youth."
On Thursday, the AFP released images of distinctive clothing, including a puffer vest with a dinosaur pattern, believed to be taken on June 26, 2023, at a Rouse Hill childcare centre. AFP Detective Acting Inspector Emmanuel Tsardoulias said the release forms part of the "painstaking and detailed" victim identification process, and the AFP has received more than 300 calls since the operation commenced.
Parental reaction and centre response
The news has triggered panic among parents. One mother, who asked not to be named, told Nine News: "My first reaction was shock and disbelief but I held it together. We needed more information before I let panic take over." She added that she did not recognise him and her child's daycare reassured her that Tait had only visited the centre.
Fit Kidz Learning Centres, where Tait was employed, released a statement expressing they are "heartbroken" and "sorry." Owners Mick and Melissa Scaife revealed that under a non-publication order they had been unable to contact former families prior to Monday. The statement read: "The order was only discontinued in court late yesterday, meaning that we can now contact families and identify the alleged offender as Hamish Tait, who worked with us for many years and also conducted an outside business in nature play and vacation care, and consulted to other Child Care Centres. We are shocked, saddened, disgusted, and sorry for the pain that has been caused to our extended community."
The statement continued: "Nothing is more important to us, or more fundamental to the trust you place in us, than keeping children safe while they are in our care. The actions of this former employee represent a profound betrayal of that trust and have left us, and our entire team, heartbroken."
Tait was connected to illegal online activity last June, when officers discovered child abuse material across 25 electronic devices containing 2.4 million files, including alleged child abuse images.
