A former Sydney childcare worker accused of being one of Australia’s worst alleged child predators has been publicly identified after a court rejected his bid to keep his name secret, with police releasing the full list of 62 early education facilities where he worked over a 16-year period of alleged offending.
Thirty-five-year-old Hamish Tait was already facing dozens of child abuse-related charges when prosecutors added more than 100 new counts last week, bringing his total number of charges to 329. Australian Federal Police (AFP) allege Tait produced child abuse material while employed at childcare centres across North West Sydney between 2009 and 2025. Tait had argued in court for a non-publication order to suppress his identity, but a Sydney judge ruled against his application on Monday, siding with the AFP, prosecutors, and media outlets that all opposed the request for secrecy.
To date, investigators have connected 136 children across 121 Sydney locations as alleged victims of Tait’s abuse, but law enforcement officials confirm they are still working to identify an additional 22 unaccounted-for victims. Acting Commander Luke Needham of the AFP confirmed that families of already identified victims have already been contacted by investigators. The AFP has now published the full names and locations of all 62 centres Tait worked at during his 16-year career, marking five of those facilities as specific locations where police allege offending directly occurred. These high-risk locations are marked with an asterisk: Fit Kidz Learning Centre Box Hill, Fit Kidz Learning Centre Putney, Fit Kidz Learning Centre Rouse Hill, Fit Kidz Learning Centre Warrawee, and Wild Earthlings Glenorie.
Beyond offences committed at Australian childcare centres, the AFP further alleges Tait shared child abuse material with recipients overseas on three separate occasions. However, Commander Needham clarified that there is currently no evidence to suggest Tait uploaded any illegal content to the dark web. The vast majority of alleged offences are concentrated in New South Wales, though Needham noted there is also limited evidence of offending in one other Australian state.
Due to the multi-decade span of the alleged abuse, some of Tait’s victims may now be adults, police said. Commander Needham urged members of the public and communities across Sydney to visit the official AFP website to review information about the case and share any details that could help investigators locate and identify the remaining 22 unknown victims. “There are 22 victims who we are yet to positively identify and that’s why I would point the community to our website … We would ask the community to consider what they might be able to share with the AFP which we hope goes some way in assisting us in identifying those other 22 (alleged) victims,” Needham said.