Sydney Daycare Worker Named After 329 Child Abuse Charges
The identity of Hamish Tait, a 35‑year‑old former childcare worker, has been revealed after police filed a court order during a search to identify victims and families. Tait faces 329 criminal charges that cover sexual abuse, production of child‑abuse material, and non‑consensual filming.
Police charge Tait with 162 counts of producing child‑abuse material and 81 counts of filming a person engaged in a private act without consent. They have also identified 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.
The alleged offences occurred in five facilities – four childcare centres and a private business – between 2009 and 2025, mostly in Sydney’s north‑west. Tait worked at or attended 62 early childhood education facilities during this period.
Police say they first linked Tait to illegal online activity in June last year, and found child‑abuse material on electronic devices seized during a raid in Glossodia, just outside Sydney.
Families of 121 affected children have been contacted, but 22 victims are still unidentified. The AFP’s Acting Commander Luke Needham stressed that “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.”
Policymakers and parents are increasingly alarmed by a string of child‑care abuse cases across Australia. Notably, Ashley Paul Griffith pleaded guilty to 307 offences in 2024 at childcare centres in Queensland and abroad, and Joshua Dale Brown was charged with dozens of child‑abuse offences at four daycare centres last year. AFP is offering support through its Operation Moonbi website.
