A former Sydney childcare worker has been publicly named for the first time. His name is Hamish Tait. He is 35 years old. Police arrested him last July. But a court had kept his name secret. The information was to help police find victims and contact their families. That order was lifted on Monday.
Tait faces 329 charges. Police say he abused 136 children. The abuse allegedly happened over 16 years. He remains in custody. The charges include 162 counts of making child abuse material. They also include 81 counts of filming someone without their consent. There are 22 counts linked to using a child under 14 to produce abuse material. Another 18 counts involve sexually touching a child under 10.
Police have spoken to 121 affected families. They are still trying to find 22 more victims. A senior police officer called the case deeply disturbing. Acting Commander Luke Needham of the Australian Federal Police said it was worse because the man was trusted to care for children.
Tait worked at, or spent time in, 62 early childhood centers across Sydney. The abuse occurred between 2009 and 2025. Most of his work was in the city’s north-west. Police believe the abuse happened at five locations. Four were childcare centers. One was his own private business.
To help affected families, police have set up a website. It names the centers where Tait worked. It also offers support services. Investigators first noticed Tait’s suspicious online activity in June last year. They later raided a property in Glossodia, near Sydney. There, they found child abuse material on his electronic devices.
This case has added to public shock over childcare abuse in Australia. Similar cases have emerged in recent years. In 2024, a man named Ashley Paul Griffith admitted to 307 offenses. These happened in Queensland and overseas over 20 years.
Last year, another case emerged in Victoria. Joshua Dale Brown was charged with many child abuse offenses. These allegedly occurred at four day care centers. As a result, health authorities urged over 1,200 children to undergo testing for sexually transmitted infections.
