Wife of Australia's worst alleged paedophile Hamish Tait is a childcare centre director: Fit Kidz bosses defend 'valued employee' - as Claire Tait quietly changes her name

By CANDACE SUTTON, SENIOR NEWS REPORTER, AUSTRALIA Published: 16:33, 21 July 2026 | Updated: 16:33, 21 July 2026 The wife of Hamish Alexander Edward Tait - the man accused of Australia's worst childcare sex abuse scandal - has dropped her married name and is devastated by the allegations, her bosses say.  Hamish Tait, 35, is accused of 329 charges involving 150 children. The charges against him include: sexually touching children under ten, filming them and their toilet trips, inciting indecent acts or recording their private parts. Tait is accused of offending at five daycare centres of a list of 62 early education centres he visited between 2009 and 2025. Claire, his wife and mother of his three children, began working as the director of one centre that he is alleged to have offended at, Fit Kidz Learning Centre Rouse Hill, in 2011.  Since Tait was arrested and remanded in custody last June, Claire has adopted her maiden name, Stray. She also sold the family's home in Glossodia, on the city's outskirts, for just under $1million on June 26. It is not suggested that Ms Stray had either any knowledge of her husband's alleged crimes or participated in them. Indeed, she has not been charged with any offences despite an extensive police investigation into her husband spanning more than a year.    Her bosses, Fit Kidz co-owners Mick and Melissa Scaife, declined to confirm whether Ms Stray was currently working at or operating one of their childcare centres.  'Ms Stray has been a valued member of our team for 15 years,' they said in a statement to the Daily Mail.  'This has obviously been devastating for her and her family. We are doing everything we can to support her, alongside all of our educators and our families, through this.'  Claire Stray, the wife of Australia's worst alleged childcare paedophile Hamish Tait, has changed her name and sold her home. Pictured together, above, during a photoshoot Ms Stray was the director of Fit Kidz at Rouse Hill. Above, a birthday message posted on the daycare centre's social media pages Hamish Tait's identity was revealed by a court last week A NSW court last week lifted a long-standing suppression order preventing Tait from being identified, despite his lawyers arguing that such orders should continue to 'protect both the physical and mental safety' of him, his parents and Ms Stray. His lawyers lost out to prosecutors' counter-arguments that Tait's identity and work locations were 'the worst kept secret in that community'.  Tait, a former schoolboy at Barker College, was arrested last June at the family home, with officers seizing 25 electronic devices containing 2.4million files including alleged child abuse images. The release of his identity coincided with the Federal Police issuing an alarming list of education facilities Tait attended. Four Fit Kidz locations, and his own early education business, Wild Earthlings, were among the list where alleged offences occurred.  Locations on the AFP list that he visited are as far flung as the Amata Anangu School, in the APY Lands, in remote South Australia, 500km southwest of Alice Springs. Police have so far identified 136 children Tait allegedly offended against. They attended Fit Kidz in Warrawee, Rouse Hill, Putney and Box Hill, and Wild Earthlings at Glenorie.  They are seeking the identities of 22 more and have released images of children's clothing in a bid to find them.  Police arrest Hamish Tait at his Glossodia home last July (above). It has now been sold by his wife Parents - appalled by the allegations - said they were attracted by Hamish Tait's positive attitude as an apparent advocate for children's growth and development, running his running his own nature-focused daycare business. 'He spoke about children with nothing but respect and dignity and advocated for their rights,' one mother, Heather from northwestern Sydney said.  After charges were laid against Tait, she said she felt 'disgust, anger, grief, everything'. Police expect more parents will come forward after publishing the list of places where Tait worked. Read the full list below. Parents who believe their child had contact with Tait are urged to call the AFP on (02) 9765 1000 between 7am and 7pm AEST. Hamish Alexander Edward Tait will face court again on September 10. 1800RESPECT 1800 737 732. Kids Helpline 1800 55 1800 Police allege offending occurred at locations marked with an asterisk: Beaumont Hills OOSH (Jigsaw OOSH or Beaumont Hills OOSH) Carinya Neighbourhood Childrens Centre Inc Cooranbong Valley Community Preschool Endeavour Early Education – Kariong Fit Kidz Learning Centre Box Hill* Fit Kidz Learning Centre Dural North Fit Kidz Learning Centre Dural South Fit Kidz Learning Centre Glenwood North Fit Kidz Learning Centre Glenwood South Fit Kidz Learning Centre Putney* Fit Kidz Learning Centre Rouse Hill* Fit Kidz Learning Centre Turramurra Fit Kidz Learning Centre Vineyard Fit Kidz Learning Centre Warrawee* Glenning Valley Child Care Centre Goodstart Early Learning Centre Woodcroft Gracelands Early Education Centre Heritage House Cherrybrook Early Education Centre Kiddiwinks Play, Laugh & Learn – Warriewood Kradle 2 Krayons Long Day Centre Little Peoples Early Learning Centre Wollongong Milestones Early Learning, Baulkham Hills Montessori Academy – Alexandria Montessori Academy – Zetland – Victoria Park Morisset and District Children’s Centre Pennant Hills Before & After School Care Quakers Hill Kindergarten and Child Care Centre Wiggles & Giggles Cranebrook Wild Earthlings Cumberland State Forest Young Academics Early Learning Centre Rouse Hill