2026-02-24
At a Senate inquiry hearing into the quality and safety of early childhood education and care in Canberra today, the CEO of G8 Education, Pejman Okhovat, confirmed that approximately one in five of the company’s more than 400 early learning centres received more than two compliance notices in the past two years.
G8 operates almost 400 centres nationally, with around 36,000 children attending its services each week.
Mr Okhovat’s total remuneration was reported at $1.6 million in the company’s latest annual report, released recently. Based on the Award Rate, a 20 year-old Cert III educator in their first year would earn around $1068 per week, while the G8 CEO earns $32,088 per week.
In the hearing, G8 reported their latest profits as $56 million. During questioning, G8 was unable to confirm what proportion of its shareholders are based overseas.
The company also confirmed that centre managers are assessed against a performance “scorecard” that includes financial performance as a component, alongside quality and safety measures, in determining eligibility for bonuses.
Lines attributable to Senator Steph Hodgins-May, Australian Greens spokesperson for Early Childhood Education and Care:
“Thirty-five thousand Australian children walk through the doors of a G8 centre each week. We now know that one in five of those centres has received multiple compliance notices in just two years.
“These notices relate to breaches of standards designed to protect children’s safety and wellbeing.
“Taxpayer dollars are helping fund $4500 a day for the CEO’s salary, while the educators actually caring for our children earn barely $200 a day. It’s clear where G8’s priorities are.
“Parents are paying hundreds of dollars out of pocket each week, while executives and shareholders benefit from a model where compliance failures are a regular feature of their business model.
“Linking centre managers’ bonuses to financial performance creates a conflict between business incentives and the safeguards meant to protect children.
“This inquiry is making clear that the market model in early education is not delivering the care children and families deserve.”