G8 Education, operator of a centre where Joshua Dale Brown allegedly abused children in his care, says the rest of its staff are struggling emotionally while working through the fallout of the abuse revelations.
Brown is accused of abusing eight children aged under two at a Point Cook centre in Melbourne's southwest between April 2022 and January 2023.
The company, which educates one in 40 Australian kids in childcare, made the submission to a NSW parliamentary inquiry into early childhood education and care starting on Wednesday.
"Whilst the recent negative media coverage has brought into light some terrible issues ... it risks undermining the safety and wellbeing of the broader workforce," G8 chief executive Pejman Okhovat said in the submission.
Early childhood workers already suffer from low societal recognition and pay which affects the ability of centres to attract and retain high-quality staff, G8 said.
Increasing staff pay and making training more affordable are common themes among more than 150 submissions to the inquiry.
But several slam the system's perverse incentives that triggered a surge in profit-driven providers and a lack of focus on the best interests of the 1.3 million Australian children in childcare.
Parents and governments paying for services need a far better understanding of the operations of childcare providers, academics Gabrielle Meagher and Marianne Fenech argue.
"Too often, misplaced consideration of 'commercial confidentiality' is prioritised over children's rights and safety," they say.
"There is no requirement for the rights and best interests of children to be the paramount consideration in decision making by providers."
The for-profit childcare sector has grown 30 per cent since 2015 while not-for-profits declined eight per cent, Community Early Learning Australia says.
"The over-reliance on for-profit services to meet demand for education and care services has failed to ensure access for all families," the early childhood body said.
One educator who made a submission to the inquiry said the for-profit system often results in lower staffing levels and less care for children.
"After having experienced working for a not-for-profit service, I will never return to the dire conditions that permeates the for-profit part of the sector," the anonymous submission reads.
The state inquiry comes as the federal government enlists consulting giant Deloitte to design a universal childcare scheme for the nation.
Deloitte will spend two years assessing whether a flat fee of $10 a day could replace the current Child Care Subsidy.
