Notorious serial paedophile Ashley Paul Griffith “could have been stopped, and should have been stopped”, Queensland’s attorney general has said, after the state released a landmark report into the catastrophic system failures that enabled the abuse.

Griffith was sentenced to life in prison for 307 sexual offences against 73 victims, mostly young girls aged between three and five. Most of the offending occurred while he was employed at childcare centres in Queensland between 2003 and 2022.

On Monday, the Queensland Child Death Review Board released a report into systemic failures in the case. The Queensland premier, David Crisafulli, told reporters the conclusions would “send a shiver up the spine of every Queensland parent”.

The attorney general, Deb Frecklington, said the report found that across 20 years of Griffith’s offending, there had been 18 points where the offending could have been detected or disrupted earlier, including five “missed opportunities” where action could have been taken to detect or stop him.

There were another 13 events that enabled him to continue to offend.

“This offender could have been stopped, and should have been stopped,” Frecklington said.

In a letter to victims, the chair of the board, Luke Twyford, said he had “come to understand the depth of the betrayal that you and your families have endured: the deception, the silence, the failure of people and systems that should have protected you”.

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“I have reviewed the records, met with victim-survivors and parents, attended the places where abuse occurred, and witnessed the weight of harm that has been caused and carried for too long,” Twyford said.

“You deserved care, protection and honesty. Instead, you were met with betrayal and harm.”

Crisafulli announced at a press conference on Monday his government would fast-track a reportable conduct scheme. Queensland is one of the last jurisdictions to implement such a scheme, as recommended by the royal commission into institutional responses to child sexual abuse.

The review described such a scheme as a “missing piece” that could have identified Griffith’s offending earlier.

Crisafulli said the report “makes for harrowing and disturbing reading”.

“It is essential that we [fast-track the reportable conduct scheme], it is essential that we give every chance for our institutions to keep our children safe,” Crisafulli said.

“We will be pulling that forward 12 months, in a bid to make sure we can have a reportable conduct scheme that does what is the job of any good government, and that is to keep our kids safe.

“No system will ever be bullet-proof, but we can do so much better, and so much better we will do. To the victims and their families, I express our complete and utter sympathy and sorrow.”

• In Australia, children, young adults, parents and teachers can contact the Kids Helpline on 1800 55 1800, or Bravehearts on 1800 272 831, and adult survivors can contact Blue Knot Foundation on 1300 657 380.*