Frequently Asked Questions

Absences

In order to receive Child Care Subsidy for absences, claimant/authorised person are required to acknowledge the absence. CCS is paid for up to 42 days absences for each child per financial year. All absences beyond the first 42 days will only be paid for if parents/guardians provide evidence that the absence has occurred under a permitted circumstance.

Why do I pay for child care on a public holiday?

Charging practices are commercial decisions made independently by individual child care service providers and are not a matter regulated by family assistance law. This includes the widely-used practice of charging for public holidays when your child does not attend care. This practice is used by child care service providers because child care workers, like most employees, are entitled to be paid for public holidays when they would otherwise be at work.

ACECQA Rating

Wynnum Family Day Care & Education Service is rated ‘Exceeding’.

Wynnum Family Day Care & Education Service has completed the National Quality Standard Assessment and are excited and proud to share over overall rating as Exceeding.

Activity/Outings Permission

Educators are encouraged to include activities and outings into the local and wider community and LINK which extends the program by offering new learning experiences, new social contexts and interactions. These experiences consider the age, interests and abilities of the child. Educators have completed Risk Management and Assessment for each outing and will require parent/guardian permission to attend.

Administration of Medication

Families requesting the administration of medication will be required to follow the guidelines developed by the education and care service to ensure the safety of children and educators. The education and care service will follow legislative guidelines and standards in order to ensure the health of children, families and educators at all times.

For further information please refer to Wynnum Family Day Care & Education Service policy & procedure manual.

Approved Provider

The approved provider of Wynnum Family Day Care & Education Service is Community Childcare Incorporated. This association is managed by a voluntary Management Committee, which accepts overall responsibility for the Education and Care Service, ensuring that the Education and Care Service meets the needs of the local community and is able to respond with flexibility to changing needs. The Management Committee which includes representatives of parents, educator and interested community members. Anyone, who has an interest in the service, is encouraged to seek nomination to the committee at the Annual General Meeting that is held in September each year.

Before and After School Care

The duty of care begins when the parent/guardian has signed in a child with the educator until school commences. After school care commences when school finishes until the parent/guardian signs the child out. By arrangement, educators can escort a child to and/or from school either by car or walking. These arrangements should be made at the initial interview, and reviewed each year. Child Care Subsidy is only eligible where there is an expectation of care for BSC/ASC at the educators setting. It will not be paid as a transportation service.

Booked Hours

It is essential that you adhere to your agreed booked hours and your Complying Written Arrangement. If something happens that you are delayed, you must make it a priority to notify your educator, late fees may apply. The terms and conditions of the arrangement are outlined in your contract.

A permanent booking is where a child with a current enrolment attends regular booked care day/sessions

A casual booking is where a child with a current enrolment attends on an irregular basis.

Child Care Fees

The Australian Government provides financial assistance through the CCS or ACCS to eligible families to help cover the cost of children care and to encourage workforce participation. One of more individuals may be responsible for the child’s care and liable to pay the child care fees. They must be the adult legally responsible for the child’s care or their partner. An individual must have incurred a liability to pay for a session of care under a Complying Written Arrangement to be eligible for CCS. This is a core part of eligibility for CCS or ACCS. It establishes the liability of the individual to pay for child care. Without a Complying Written Arrangement containing all the information required, the individual will not be eligible for Child Care Subsidy. Full fees will be due weekly to the educator.

Families – Educator Contract & Agreement

Your educator will present you with a Contract & Agreement. It will state the terms and conditions of the agreement including fees, program inclusions, booking requirements and termination notice.

Weekly Invoice

Invoices are issued by your educator each week. The invoice provides an overview of the costs of care. If your Child Care Subsidy (CCS) benefit is not showing; please check your MyGov account for any notifications the need actioning. The debit column represents the daily fee and levies incurred for each week. The credit column reflects parent payments received and CCS eligibility within a week. If the CCS is shown as “CCS Fee Reduction Estimate”, this means this periods fee is estimated in advance and do not reflect any eligibility changes for this current week. Childcare attendances are sent weekly to CCSS where they are received, matched against family eligibility held with Department of Human Services and returned. An outstanding balance reflects either a change between ‘CCS Fee Reduction Estimate’ against an actual/finalised paid amount or alternatively a shortfall in the gap fee paid by the family. CCSS may reconcile a family eligibility at any time and recall previously paid CCS amounts, this will result in an automatic re-calculation of fees owing to your educator.

Child Care Subsidy

The Australian Government is committed to ensuring that Australian families are able to access affordable, flexible and high-quality child care. The Government provides a number of subsidies and programs to help with the cost of child care, with the Child Care Subsidy (CCS) and Additional Child Care Subsidy (ACCS).

Eligibility Requirements
To be eligible for the CCS the following requirements must be met;

A child must:

• Be a ‘family tax benefit child’ or ‘regular care child’ and
• Be 13 or under and not attending secondary school and
• Meet immunisation requirements

The person claiming the CCS, or their partner, must:

• Meet residency requirements and
• Meet the Child Care Subsidy activity test (or be eligible for an exemption) and
• Be liable to pay for care provided under a Complying Written Arrangement (their written agreement) with their child care provider
• Child care must be provided by an approved provider in Australia and not be part of a compulsory education program, for example school

Child Care Subsidy will be paid directly to the child care providers to pass on to families as a fee reduction. Families will pay their provider the difference between their subsidy and the fees charged. Any CCS owed to families following the end of year reconciliation process will be paid directly to families as a lump sum. Child Care Subsidy withholding is designed to help families avoid or minimise debts at reconciliation, which could occur due to changes in circumstances throughout the year (for example, changes to family incomes and activities). Five percent of all families’ CCS will be withheld by the Government, however, withholding will not apply to Additional Child Care Subsidy.

Additional Child Care Subsidy

ACCS aims to assist families and children facing barriers in accessing affordable child care, and provide additional fee assistance to families and children who are genuinely disadvantaged including: children at risk of serious abuse or neglect, grandparents on income support who are the principal carer of their grandchildren, families experiencing temporary financial hardship or low income families transitioning to work from income support.

Steps to Claim Child Care Subsidy

The Australian Government is committed to ensuring that Australian families are able to access affordable, flexible and high-quality child care. The Government provides a number of subsidies and programs to help with the cost of child care, with the Child Care Subsidy (CCS) and Additional Child Care Subsidy (ACCS). Child Care Subsidy will be paid directly to the child care providers to pass on to families as a fee reduction. Families will pay their provider the difference between their subsidy and the fees charged. Any CCS owed to families following the end of year reconciliation process will be paid directly to families as a lump sum.

1. The easiest way to claim is online, you need a myGov account linked to Centrelink. If you can’t claim online call the Families line (13-61-50)
2. Get your documents ready, you will need supporting documents available to help answer some of the questions in the claim
3. Make you claim, you will need to sign into your myGov and go to Centrelink. Select make a claim then select make a claim again. Under families, select get started. Answer all the questions then submit the claim. The claim can take up to 28 days to process. Additional instructions here https://www.humanservices.gov.au/individuals/online-help/centrelink/claim-child-care-subsidy

Ceasing Enrolment

You will need to refer to your educator’s contract & agreement for notice period requirements. Subsidy will only be passed on as a fee reducation when a child physically attends care on their last day. If the child is absent on the last day of care and any consecutive days prior to the last day of care, Child Care Subsidy (CCS) is not payable and full fees will be due to your educator. A Cease Care form is to be completed by the claimant as notification that a child is finishing care with their educator at Wynnum Family Day Care and Education Service. This form is then forwarded to WFDC to notify the department that the care arrangement has ceased. An enrolment is taken to have ceased for Child Care Subsidy purposes if the child does not attend a session of care for 14 continuous weeks.

Communication

Wynnum Family Day Care & Education Service welcomes family involvement within the service. WFDC may use a variety of media to keep families informed of changes happening in relation to legislation or service operations.

Delivery and Collection of Children

Safety and security are of paramount importance in the delivery and collection of children. A child can only be given into the care of the nominated educator and can only be collected from care by the parents/guardian of the child or person nominated as authorised on the HubWorks! registration form. Children must be escorted into and out of the educators’ home and signed in and out by the parent/guardian/authorised person. Children must never be allowed to go in or out of the educator’s home alone.

Education Program and Practice

The educational program and practice of educators will be child-centered, stimulating and maximise opportunities for enhancing and extending each child’s learning and development. A quality educational program views the children as capable and competent learners who have agency and learn best through a play-based program. It builds on children’s individual knowledge, strengths, ideas, culture, abilities and interests and is likely to have long term benefits for children. The program and practice will be linked to two national approved learning frameworks

• Belonging, Being and Becoming: The Early Years Learning Framework for Australia
• My Time, Our Place: Framework for School Age care in Australia

Educators take a planned and reflective approach to implementing the educational program by using an assessment and planning cycle and engaging with critical reflection. Educators will share the program and the children’s learning and development progress with the families.

Program

• Approved learning Framework – Curriculum based decision-making
• Child Centered – Contribute to each child’s learning and development outcomes
• Program learning opportunities – Maximises opportunities for each child’s learning

Practice

• Intentional teaching moments – deliberate, purposeful and thoughtful decisions and actions
• Responsive teaching and scaffolding – respond to children’s interest, extend learning
• Child directed learning – allow children to make decisions and choices that impact their world

Assessment and Planning

• Assessment and Planning cycle – observe, analyse, document, plan, implement and reflect
• Critical reflection – children’s learning and development both individually and in groups
• Information for families – Inform families of the program and of their child’s progress

Educators

Educators are responsible for the delivery of quality education and care and agree to work cooperatively with the families, coordination unit and community in the delivery of the service. Educators are directly responsible to the coordination unit and must adhere to the Education and Care Services National Law (Queensland) Act 2010 and Education and Care Services National Regulations 2011 and Wynnum Family Day Care & Education Service Policy & Procedure Manual.

Assessment of Family Day Care Venue and Residence

The approved provider conducts an assessment of each venue and residence of the service before education and care is provided to children. The suitability of each residence and venue is determined upon completion of the ‘Assessment Audit of a Family Day Care Residence’. The suitability of each residence and venue is considered in relation to ensure the health, safety and wellbeing of children being educated and cared for by the service are being protected.

What if my Educator is not available?

When your educator is planning to take holidays you will be notified by your educator. You may choose to make your own arrangements with friends or family or you may want the service to offer alternate care. If you do need care, please notify Wynnum Family Day Care & Education Service as soon as possible and every effort will be made to place your child with an alternate educator. If your Educator is unavailable on short notice, you will be asked to contact the Manager who will attempt to refer you to an alternate educator. The Manager may call you to ask if you need alternate care. The on-call number for after-hours is 0418 739 024.

If an emergency arises in an educator’s home the children may be left in the care of the nearest responsible adult. At no other time will your child be placed in the care of a person who is not a registered educator.

Enrolment and Induction

Wynnum Family Day Care & Education Service is committed to developing collaborative partnerships with families, beginning with the enrolment and induction exchange process.

• An initial childcare enquiry is to be recorded
• WFDC will make contact to discuss your individual childcare requirements
• A considered placement option will be shared between families and educators and an opportunity to meet in the care environment will be set up between these two parties to decide the suitability of the placement
• WFDC will share the enrolment process and requirements with the families
• Upon confirmation of a placement acceptance by both family and educator, a registration email will be send to the family containing all requirements needed for the placement to commence.

Priority of Access

Child Care Subsidy is a payment made by the Australian Government to assist eligible families with the cost of child care. However, the demand for child care sometimes exceeds supply in some locations. When this happens, it is important for services to allocate places to those families with the greatest need for child care support.

There may be a waiting list for child care services and to ensure the system is fair, the Australian Government has “Priority of Access Guidelines” for allocating places in these circumstances. They are used when there is a waiting list for a child care service or when a number of parents are applying for a limited number of vacant places.

The Australian Government has determined guidelines for allocating places in these circumstances. They set out the following three levels of priority, which child care services must follow when filling vacant places:

• Priority 1 – a child at risk of serious abuse or neglect
• Priority 2 – a child of a sole parent who satisfies, or of parents who both satisfy, the activity test through paid employment
• Priority 3 – any other child

This reflects the Australian Government’s intention to help families who are most in need and support the safety and wellbeing of children at risk in accordance with the Framework for Protecting Australia’s Children 2009-2020.