A second man has been charged with child sex offences, a day after it was revealed a former childcare worker faced more than 70 charges against babies and toddlers.

Joshua Dale Brown, 26, is accused of abusing eight young children aged from as young as five months to two years old at a childcare centre in Melbourne’s west.

On Wednesday, it emerged another man, Michael Simon Wilson, appeared in court on the same day as Brown, charged with child abuse material, sex offences and bestiality.

Any alleged connection between the pair is not known and police have not commented on Wilson’s case.

Victorian Premier Jacinta Allan said she was not aware of the case.

“I’ve not been briefed and nor indeed would I comment on an active police investigation,” she said.

Brown had worked at about 20 childcare facilities across Melbourne’s north and north-west since 2017. Following the charges laid against him – which relate to a centre at Point Cook – health authorities have recommended 1200 children be tested for unspecified infectious diseases as a precaution.

On Wednesday, federal Education Minister Jason Clare condemned the allegations, revealing a personal connection to two of the children involved.

“One of those parents is a friend of mine, and her two little girls are directly affected by this. And I won’t tell you what she told me last night, because you can’t repeat it on television. But she’s right to be mad,” he said.

“My friend is mad because of all of the stress and the trauma and the crap that she and her girls are going to have to go through in the weeks ahead. This is serious, and it requires serious action.”

Housing Minister Clare O’Neil, meanwhile, became emotional as she discussed the allegations.

“Can I first say I am a parent of a child in childcare in Victoria, and this has been enormously upsetting news for all of us here,” she told Seven’s Sunrise on Wednesday.

“We take so much care of our children and then to place your trust in an institution and have it betrayed in this way, it is just awful.

‘I was so panicked yesterday, looking on that list to see if any of my kids have been affected in any of these centres.

“[I know] thousands of parents around Victoria having to go through these discussions with their children, that we would never want a parent to have to talk to a child about, so I just say from a human perspective, this is absolutely awful.”

Since the allegations emerged, the Victorian government has ordered an urgent child safety review, created a register of all early childhood educators and brought forward a ban on phones in centres.

The incoming federal ban will be fast-tracked in Victoria to September 26. Childcare centres that fail to comply face fines of $50,000.

Families of children who need testing are entitled to $5000 payments to cover the cost of parents taking time off, travel and other requirements.

Parents and carers have reported long wait times to access support and health information from a government hotline.

Chief Health Officer Christian McGrath acknowledged the delays but said 1300 families had been helped by the phone line on Tuesday.

The Victorian government has told the child safety review, which must be finished by August 15, to consider making CCTV mandatory in centres.

“It’s a deterrent, if nothing else,” Allan said.

Brown was not known to Victoria Police until the start of the investigation, and there were no formal complaints against him. He had a valid working with children check.

Advocates for sexual assault survivors and children say the system’s checks urgently need overhauling. Industry body Early Learning Association Australia, the Act for Kids charity and Scouts Australia are among those pushing for nationwide changes.

“We have found that a charge in one jurisdiction – even if it is dismissed – can prohibit an applicant from receiving a card there, but not in another,” Scouts Australia Chief Commissioner Brendan Watson said.

“There is little doubt that the protection of children would be enhanced if we had one national system with all jurisdictions’ information being shared.”

Sexual Assault Services Victoria chief executive Kathleen Maltzahn said the checks worked only if someone had already been found guilty of child abuse.

“Evidence of abuse or concerning behaviour that hasn’t resulted in criminal charges or disciplinary action [should be] considered,” she said.

Parent advocate group The Parenthood has ramped up calls for a national early childhood watchdog, while the Greens want a royal commission into the childcare sector.

State, territory and federal education ministers recently backed a national safety rules overhaul, including stricter conditions around photography and mandatory reporting.

But advocates want more, with Maltzahn calling for a rethink of how centres secure children’s bathrooms and potentially introducing a national register for staff.

Federal Early Childhood Education Minister Jess Walsh said the Labor government supported Victoria and NSW pushing ahead with reforms, while the Commonwealth worked with all jurisdictions on changes, including nationwide registration.

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National Sexual Abuse and Redress Support Service 1800 211 028

-with AAP