Families recognised after 15 year fight over child sex abuse allegations

Updated June 3, 2026 — 4:46pm,first published June 3, 2026 — 5:00am

Two women and their daughters, who were allegedly sexually abused at a western Sydney childcare centre, are one step closer to receiving compensation for a “harrowing” 15-year legal fight which left the families “silenced, sick” and facing bankruptcy.

Greens MP Sue Higginson successfully moved a notice of motion in parliament on Wednesday calling on the government to acknowledge the failings of the institutions and systems that let them down; recognise the damage of denying justice to the children; and for the government to provide the families with ex gratia payments, which are made in special circumstances.

Jacqui* and Rachel’s* daughters Julia* and Rose* were allegedly sexually assaulted at Footprints childcare centre in Sydney’s south by volunteer Rodney Raymond Bird, who co-owned the facility with his daughter, the director. The centre has since been sold, and the families cannot be identified for legal reasons.

The childcare centre hired its own investigator, and child protection teams closed the reports, while criminal charges were dropped at the eleventh hour. Later, a successful civil lawsuit was overturned on appeal, with Jacqui ordered to pay the alleged perpetrator’s legal fees. The families learnt this year police had never collected electronic evidence or CCTV from the centre.

Higginson said their journey had been “fraught and traumatic”, defined by repeated institutional failures, compounding their trauma.

“The little girls and their mothers were put through the most harrowing of legal processes … [which] rendered them frightened, silenced, sick, and incapable of functioning at times.”

She added that no amount of money could compensate them for the “harm, loss, suffering, and state failure” they lived through, but said it could provide some recognition of the public good they had served.

“They fought for us, they fought for our children, and for our grandchildren, and they did so successfully. And the world is a better place because of them, their courage, their strength, their advocacy.”

Deputy Liberal leader Natalie Ward, Animal Justice Party MP Emma Hurst, Greens MPs Amanda Cohn, Abigail Boyd and Cate Faehrmann, and Labor MPs Sarah Kaine and Rose Jackson each supported the notice of motion, with the women’s experience discussed for 45 minutes.

The worst fears of Jacqui and Rachel were confirmed when their children made disclosures of sexual abuse in 2010. Both Julia and Rose gave statements to police in what the parents say was a traumatising process.

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