Kindercare Serious Incident: More Than Just Mistaken Identity of a Detergent Bottle
On Friday afternoon, 5 December 2025, five children and two teachers at a Kindercare Learning Centre in Christchurch were injured after commercial steriliser liquid was mistakenly poured onto a black plastic sheet used as a makeshift water slide. Ambulances took the group to hospital with chemical burns – an incident that has been described as a “simple human error.”
But documents, regulatory responses, and past complaints suggest more than a one‑off mistake.
A Pattern of Incidents and Limited Oversight
WorkSafe concluded the incident was caused by human error: a teacher picked up a bottle they believed was detergent and applied it to the slide. Kindercare was not found liable for breaching health and safety laws. WorkSafe issued no sector‑wide guidance after the incident, and its online advice for education settings remains unchanged.
There had been other serious incidents at the centre in 2024 and 2025, though the Ministry of Education has withheld the details. The centre also attracted three complaints in 2024 and 2020. Two of the complaints related to health and safety.
Despite this history, the Ministry – the regulator responsible for ECE – had not carried out a full compliance assessment since 2011. And even after the serious incident on 5 December, it still did not conduct one.
Instead of leading an independent investigation, the Ministry relied on Kindercare to investigate itself. It told Stuff that a full assessment was “unnecessary” because the centre had “isolated the area and mitigated the immediate risk.”
A Slow Regulatory Response
Although the incident occurred on 5 December, the Ministry had not issued a provisional licence by 31 December despite Regulation 15(1), which allows immediate reclassification when a child is harmed and an investigation is warranted.
A provisional licence speeds up identification of non‑compliance and signals to parents that the regulator is acting decisively.
It was not until 2026, after Kindercare completed its own internal investigation, that the Ministry issued a two‑month provisional licence for breaches of minimum standards, including:
- Persons Responsible
- Medical assistance and incident management
- Hazard and risk management
- Excursions
What Happened at the Kindercare Centre That Day
The activity involved 45 of the centre’s 88 children, aged three and four. Two permanent teachers from one of the two rooms involved in the water-slide activity were on leave. Staff used an unlicensed grass area outside the centre, a space frequently used by the centre for children’s play.
Timeline of events:
- 12:00pm – The centre director set up the slide using standard dishwashing liquid.
- 12:20pm – A teacher went inside to change and collected more “dishwashing liquid” from the kitchen.
- 12:25pm – The liquid was applied. The director noticed fewer bubbles and a different colour and consistency.
- 12:27pm – The director left to buy more detergent from a dairy. Staff decided to wash down the slide and reapply the new liquid.
- 12:40pm – The first child reported skin irritation.
- 12:50pm – The activity was stopped. Children were hosed down, placed in water troughs, and showered.
Expert Concerns About Regulatory Failures
Dr Sarah Alexander of the Office of Early Childhood Education says the incident exposes “clear shortcomings” in both WorkSafe’s and the Ministry of Education’s responses.
She notes that WorkSafe focused narrowly on the chemical itself rather than the wider conditions that allowed the incident to happen including the use of an unlicensed outdoor area, the absence of activity planning, no risk assessment, and gaps in staff oversight.
Dr Alexander says the Ministry’s decision to wait for Kindercare’s internal investigation before acting raises serious concerns. “Asking a provider to investigate its own serious incident is like asking a pilot to investigate their own crash – it’s neither credible nor independent.”
She also did not think much of the Ministry’s decision to allow the centre to reopen the next business day without first placing it on a provisional licence or carrying out a full compliance check, saying “It suggests the Ministry placed more weight on supporting the business than on ensuring the safety and wellbeing of children.”
She says that one of the most troubling aspects is that teachers had access to industrial cleaning chemicals. The sector, she says, needs a clear commitment that teachers are not and will not be required to perform cleaning or kitchen duties.
The incident itself was not a single mistake but a chain of avoidable failures.
- the chemical was not plumbed correctly;
- staff had not been trained in safe handling;
- Person Responsible requirements were not met;
- no RAMS was completed;
- an unlicensed outdoor area was used as a regular play space;
- no one questioned the chemical bottle when it was taken from the kitchen.
As Dr Alexander puts it, “This wasn’t a single error. It was a chain of avoidable failures in policies, procedures, planning, and staff practice.” Rushed decisions and weak systems collided and children were harmed.
The incident provides a stark reminder that safety in early childhood education depends not just on individual staff decisions, but on strong systems, robust oversight, and a regulator willing to act.
