Key Takeaways
- • Shared Beginnings, a childcare chain owned by ASX-listed private lender Finexia Financial Group, entered administration on Monday, 19 October 2026, affecting all seven of its centres across Queensland, Victoria and the ACT.
- • Finexia took ownership of the centres in the 2025 financial year after former operator Genius Early Learning defaulted on substantial loans owed to Finexia, and Genius collapsed under massive debt in March 2025.
- • Finexia's securities have been suspended since 2 March after the company failed to file multiple periodic reports, including its half-yearly report; it reported a $5.2 million net loss for FY2025.
- • DVT McLeods partners Bill Karageozis and Nick Keramos have been appointed administrators to find buyers, with the impact on childcare places and jobs still unclear.
- • A September Early Learning and Care Council Australia report found 152 long daycare services have closed since 2024, with 276 more at risk of closing within 12 months.
Summary
Childcare operator Shared Beginnings has entered administration, becoming the latest early education provider to run into trouble amid a wave of closures in the sector. The business is owned by private lender Finexia Financial Group and operates seven centres in Queensland, Victoria and the ACT, including Sinnamon Park and Kenmore in Queensland, Reservoir, Mont Albert and Beaumaris in Victoria, and Bonython and Conder in the ACT. According to the ABC, administration began on Monday. Finexia managing director Neil Sheather said the decision followed the exhaustion of all other options and was necessary, adding that Finexia had committed to honour staff entitlements and continues to financially support the business. Bill Karageozis and Nick Keramos of DVT McLeods have been appointed administrators to find suitable buyers. In a letter to parents, Mr Sheather said all centres remained open and care would continue as normal.
The centres arose from the collapse of Genius Early Learning, which operated more than 30 early childhood centres nationally and collapsed under massive debt in March 2025. Genius had been a major borrower from Finexia, which took on ownership of the centres after the default. Finexia said it had since provided significant financial and operational support, including rebranding, marketing, staffing support and substantial funding to cover working capital shortfalls. Finexia told staff the centres had been operating "at a loss."
Finexia's position has also deteriorated. The Australian Securities Exchange suspended the company's securities on 2 March after it failed to file multiple periodic reports, including a half-yearly report due at the end of February. The company reported a $5.2 million net loss for the 2025 financial year, which it described as "one of the most challenging in Finexia's history." Earlier this week, Finexia said it had completed the divestment of its interest in the Stay Company Income Fund, offloading $25 million in debt from its balance sheet. In early October, former executive chairman Robert Spano resigned and moved to non-executive director and chairman of the board.
The case has been cited as a demonstration of private credit risk. The Australian Securities and Investments Commission has said it is closely scrutinising private lending, a sector typically far less regulated than banking, and is concerned that "the first significant cracks" are appearing. Former national children's commissioner Anne Hollonds AO said the childcare sector is undergoing a significant adjustment driven by increased regulatory costs and several prominent crises, observing that "a lot of private providers divesting centres or pulling out altogether." A September report by the Early Learning and Care Council Australia found 152 long daycare services have closed since 2024, with 276 further services identified as at risk. A Mitchell Institute report found for-profit providers hold 74 per cent of long daycare places, and that 40 per cent of for-profit centres opened in 2025 had changed provider since 2013, compared with 11 per cent of other centres. The federal education minister has been contacted for comment.
The centres arose from the collapse of Genius Early Learning, which operated more than 30 early childhood centres nationally and collapsed under massive debt in March 2025. Genius had been a major borrower from Finexia, which took on ownership of the centres after the default. Finexia said it had since provided significant financial and operational support, including rebranding, marketing, staffing support and substantial funding to cover working capital shortfalls. Finexia told staff the centres had been operating "at a loss."
Finexia's position has also deteriorated. The Australian Securities Exchange suspended the company's securities on 2 March after it failed to file multiple periodic reports, including a half-yearly report due at the end of February. The company reported a $5.2 million net loss for the 2025 financial year, which it described as "one of the most challenging in Finexia's history." Earlier this week, Finexia said it had completed the divestment of its interest in the Stay Company Income Fund, offloading $25 million in debt from its balance sheet. In early October, former executive chairman Robert Spano resigned and moved to non-executive director and chairman of the board.
The case has been cited as a demonstration of private credit risk. The Australian Securities and Investments Commission has said it is closely scrutinising private lending, a sector typically far less regulated than banking, and is concerned that "the first significant cracks" are appearing. Former national children's commissioner Anne Hollonds AO said the childcare sector is undergoing a significant adjustment driven by increased regulatory costs and several prominent crises, observing that "a lot of private providers divesting centres or pulling out altogether." A September report by the Early Learning and Care Council Australia found 152 long daycare services have closed since 2024, with 276 further services identified as at risk. A Mitchell Institute report found for-profit providers hold 74 per cent of long daycare places, and that 40 per cent of for-profit centres opened in 2025 had changed provider since 2013, compared with 11 per cent of other centres. The federal education minister has been contacted for comment.
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