Childcare giant G8 Education, which was rocked after allegations of child abuse emerged against an ex-employee in 2025, announced on Wednesday it will close 10 per cent of its centres.
The provider blamed its decision to close 40 locations on a range of economic and social conditions, including cost-of-living pressures and lower birth rates.
Among the sites slated for closure is Creative Garden Early Learning at Point Cook in Melbourne's southwest, one of five G8 centres swept up in an abuse scandal surrounding former worker Joshua Dale Brown.
But for Melody Glaister, whose daughter attended the centre during Brown's period of employment, it should have closed when the allegations were first aired.
"I don't understand to this day how they're still operational, knowing what those kids allegedly went through," Ms Glaister told AAP.
"So I feel like this, now, almost a year later, it's kind of: 'why now?'"
The decision to shut the centre as part of a broader suite of closures had overlooked the significance of the alleged abuse, Ms Glaister said.
"It's just a business decision, and that's all it is," she said.Â
Brown has been charged with 156 offences, including more than 70 against eight children aged under two years.
Much of the alleged abuse happened at five G8 centres, and three centres not owned by the company, between April 2022 and January 2023.
About 36,000 children across Australia use G8 Education's 395 childcare and early learning centres each week, including Headstart, Creative Garden, Jellybeans, Kool Kids, World of Learning and Kindy Patch Kids.
Parents using one of the 40 centres slated for closure can move their children to a nearby G8 facility, and staff will be redeployed where possible.
Chief executive Pejman Okhovat said 2025 was a challenging year for the group and the childcare sector more broadly.
"These incidents impacted family confidence and trust across Australia," he told shareholders.
G8's year-to-date occupancy rate across its centres is 56.1 per cent, down 7.9 per cent on the previous period.
The company made a net loss of $303.3 million in 2025, compared to a profit of $67.7 million in the prior year.
It rolled out CCTV in July as G8 continues to work with the federal government to ensure safeguards are in place.
A G8 Education spokesperson said the closures were triggered by a range of operational considerations.
"The early childhood education and care sector is experiencing unprecedented change and uncertainty, driven by a combination of socio and macro-economic factors," a statement said.
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