Identity of childcare worker charged with more than 320 child abuse offences revealed

A former childcare worker from Sydney charged with more than 320 offences can now be named, with 120 affected families contacted by federal police.

Hamish Tait, 35, allegedly committed the offences over 16 years at dozens of centres, with more than 150 alleged victims - 22 of whom are still unidentified.

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Tait was first charged last July but his identity can only now be revealed after non-publication order was lifted by a court.

The children in the allegations were pre-school and primary school age, the Australian Federal Police (AFP) said.

Families had also started a petition to have Tait unmasked.

Tait, from Glossodia in the rural Hawkesbury region of Sydney’s north-west, worked at 62 childcare and early education centres mostly in the area between 2009 and 2025.

A website has been set up for parents and carers to get more information about where he worked, as well as support.

The AFP’s Operation Moonbi began in June 2025, following a report from the National Centre for Missing and Exploited Children (NCMEC) regarding an online user uploading a file depicting child abuse.

The AFP allegedly linked Tait to the illegal activity and executed a search warrant in Glossodia on June 20, 2025.

Electronic devices allegedly containing child abuse material were seized.

He was charged with eight counts of online child abuse material offences on July 10, 2025.

Similar charges were made in April, June and July of this year and he is now facing 329 charges in total.

Multiple search warrants were executed at childcare facilities across Sydney’s north-west in 2025 as part of the evidence-gathering process, the AFP said.

Tait has been in custody since he was arrested and charged in July 2025.

It’s alleged he committed multiple offences against children at five facilities, which includes four childcare centres and his own business.

He remains before the courts, charged with multiple harrowing offences with some carrying sentences of 20 years in prison.

AFP Acting Commander Luke Needham said the alleged victims and their families had been contacted by the AFP and offered support.

“As a result of our comprehensive investigation and extensive victim identification process, we allege this matter currently involves 136 victims,” Needham said.

“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.”

Police are still seeking to identify the further 22 alleged victims, taking the total to 158.

Needham said the year-long investigation involved the analysis of 2.4 million electronic files and 12 search warrants.

Federal Attorney-General Michelle Rowland, who represents the area where some of Tait’s alleged offending occurred, said she was “deeply sickened and heartbroken” by the allegations.