Child Care Centre Fees Policy

National Quality Framework

QA7:  7.1.2.  Management systems: Systems are in place to manage risk and enable effective management and operation of quality service.

Related Policies 
Orientation for Children Policy
Privacy and Confidentiality Policy

Aim

Parents fully understand our child care centre fee payment procedures and requirements, and pay their child care centre fees on time.

Related Policies
Orientation for Children Policy
Privacy and Confidentiality Policy

Implementation

Enrolment

• A booking fee is required ( 1 weeks full fees ) when lodging an enrolment form. This is non-refundable if your child does not take a place at our service. This booking fee will be taken as part of your security deposit once your have accepted a position at our Service and will be put towards your child’s first weeks fees.
  Fees must be paid:
• Two weeks in advance
• weekly, fortnightly or monthly in advance by direct deposit
• on the first morning you child attends the service for the week
• in advance for every day that your child is enrolled at the service. This includes pupil free days, sick days and family holidays but excludes periods when the service is closed
• on time
• all accounts must be PAID IN FULL prior to your child’s end of care

Child Care Subsidy

Child Care Subsidy is available to all families who are Australian Residents if the child meets immunisation requirements and parents meet eligibility requirements. Entitlement is determined by an activity test which determines the number of hours of subsidised care to which families are entitled.

A broad range of activities meet the activity test requirements, including paid work, self-employment, unpaid work in a family business, active job hunting, volunteering or studying. You can also include reasonable travel time to and from a place of activity to the child care centre. In two parent families, both parents must meet the activity test, and subsidy hours are calculated on the lower number where parents have different levels of activity. There are exemptions for parents who legitimately cannot meet the activity test requirements.  Low income families who do not meet the activity test can access 24 hours of subsidised care per fortnight.

For families who attend the child care centre five (5) days a week, 10 hour sessions per day per week will be offered so they fall within the 100 hours of subsidy per fortnight. To be eligible for the sessions your child can attend between the hours of 7.30am – 5.30 pm each day. If you attend outside these hours you will be paying fees at full amount for the extra time attended.

The percentage of subsidy a family receives is based on their estimated combined annual income. All families wishing to access Child Care Subsidy need to complete an online Child Care Subsidy Assessment through their myGov account. Assessment asks families to provide information about their expected combined family income, activity level of parents and types of child care service being used.

The Additional Child Care Subsidy may be available to help support:

• families needing help to support their children’s safety and wellbeing
• grandparents on income support who are primary child-carers
• families in temporary financial hardship
• families moving to work from income supportFamilies can claim Child Care Subsidy or Additional Child Care Subsidy online by signing into their myGov and completing a Child Care Subsidy claim. If eligible, the Subsidy will be paid directly to the service on families’ behalf and we will reduce the fees owed. This can occur after our service enters families’ enrolment information online, and families confirm their enrolment information through their myGov account. Until Child Care Subsidy details are available, families will need to pay full fees.Families are entitled to receive Child Care Subsidy for up to 42 days where their child is absent, for example due to illness, public holidays and parental leave. Evidence to support these absences is not required. Additional absence days may be available if they meet the situations outlines in the Family Assistance Law and there is evidence to support these.

Statement of Account

We will issue fortnightly statements (with the child/children’s full name/s, date of care, date of payment etc) detailing the fees paid and the amount of Child Care Subsidy received. (Parents’ My Gov accounts will also have how much care families have received and how much Child Care Subsidy has been paid.) If families pay more than the fee amount required at the time, change will not be given but will be credited to the family’s account.

Customer Account Statements

Customer Account Statements will be issued every week and identify previous week, current week and two weeks in advance.

Late Fees

Families who do not collect their child before we normally close for the day may be charged a late fee of $5 for every minute they arrive past our closing time. This fee covers the cost of employing the staff required to supervise a child outside our operating hours. It may be waived at the discretion of the Nominated Supervisor.

Termination

Should you wish to end your child’s place at the child care centre or should management make the decision to terminate your child’s place, 2 weeks written notice is required from the ending/terminating party. If you do not provide this notice, you will be charged 2 weeks fees.  Children must also be signed in and out by parents/guardians on the last scheduled day of their attendance for the Child Care Subsidy to apply. If this does not occur families are required to pay full fees.

Overdue Fees

The Nominated Supervisor will issue a Friendly Fee Reminder letter to any family who is one week late paying their fees. If families are having difficulty making fee payments they should immediately speak with the approved provider or nominated supervisor to discuss fee payment arrangements. Information provided by families will be treated as strictly private and confidential.

In cases of non-payment of fees, where the service is unable to contact families about the debt, or families do not meet agreed arrangements for repayment of the debt and ongoing payment of fees:

• bond payments will be applied to outstanding debt amounts and
• the Nominated Supervisor may immediately suspend or terminate the child’s place at the service. Families will be advised of this action in writing.

Sources

Bryant, L. (2009). Managing a Child Care Service : A Hands-On Guide for Service Providers. Sydney: Community Child Care Co-Operative.

Education and Care Services National Law and Regulations

Family Assistance Law

Review

The policy will be reviewed annually by:

• Management
• Employees
• Family Members
• Interested parties

Reviewed: June 2018                  Date for next review: September 2019