Man Charged With 329 Child Abuse Offences Across 62 Centres

Hamish Tait, 35, faces 329 charges of child abuse covering the period from 2009 to 2025 while he worked across 62 centres, The Guardian reported. The charges include 162 counts of producing child abuse material, 81 counts of filming a person engaged in a private act without consent and 24 counts of using a child under 14 years for the production of child abuse material.

Police have identified 136 alleged victims and have not yet identified a further 22.

Tait was arrested in July 2025, when officers seized almost 2.5 million files from electronic devices at his home. He has remained in custody since the arrest. Police established a website under Operation Moonbi that lists 55 childhood education facilities where Tait worked or attended between 2009 and 2025.

Many of the facilities are in Sydney, and the list includes a small preschool in a remote Indigenous community in South Australia. Police have not suggested offences occurred at every named location. A non-publication order sought by the Australian Federal Police was lifted on Monday.

On the same day, AFP acting commander Luke Needham urged the public to share information that could help identify victims. On Wednesday, acting South Australian premier and Indigenous affairs minister Kyam Maher described the allegations as disturbing and said he had requested more information from state police.

The South Australian education department stated it is aware of the matter and that investigations are continuing.