Payment and collection of fees policy

Early Learning Victoria is committed to fairness, transparency and financial sustainability in setting and collecting fees.

We have clear processes, procedures and practices for invoicing and billing families.

Equitable access and fairness is supported by clearly communicating and implementing all fee-setting and billing processes and procedures.

1. Scope

This policy applies to families, staff, management and visitors of Early Learning Victoria centres. This includes volunteers, students on placement and contractors or labour hire employees of Early Learning Victoria.

2. Policy Statement

This policy enables the responsible financial management of Early Learning Victoria centres and supports us to consistently provide high-quality early learning and childcare, as well as equitable access and fairness.

Under the Education and Care Services National Law Act 2010 and Education and Care Services National Regulations 2011, Early Learning Victoria must ensure it has policies and procedures in place for the payment of fees, must provide families with a statement of fees (Regulation 168) and must take reasonable steps to ensure that policies and procedures are followed (Regulation 170). Early Learning Victoria must also notify families at least 14 days before making any change that will affect the fees charged or the way in which fees are collected (Regulation 172).

Early Learning Victoria has obligations under Family Assistance Law in relation to receiving and passing on the Child Care Subsidy (CCS) and Additional Child Care Subsidy (ACCS), including keeping required records, and managing and reporting enrolment details and sessions of care.

Early Learning Victoria also has fees-related obligations under Victorian Government kindergarten funding requirements, including in relation to Free Kinder for children enrolling in funded kindergarten programs at Early Learning Victoria centres. Obligations include applying standard fees for all kindergarten-aged children, offsetting the full Free Kinder payment against fees for relevant children, and applying the fee offset regularly.

The key elements of this fees policy are:

families are billed fortnightly, to align with the CCS fortnightly cycle
a minimum of 2 weeks’ notice is required to cease a child’s enrolment
a minimum of 2 weeks’ notice is required to reduce permanent bookings
fees are payable for all days that a child is booked and the centre is operating, regardless of whether the child actually attends the centre on those days
fees are paid by direct debit unless, in exceptional circumstances, alternative payment options are requested and arranged. If a family fails to meet payments, Early Learning Victoria will, wherever possible, seek to organise alternative payment arrangements. Suspension or termination of enrolment is a last resort for continued non-payment (multiple failures to pay)
families are responsible for lodging a claim for CCS through Centrelink. Families assessed as eligible have their CCS paid to Early Learning Victoria, as the provider. Early Learning Victoria then passes the CCS on to families by reducing their payable fee (gap fee) by the same amount
families are responsible for applying for ACCS through Centrelink if the application is for the grandparent subsidy, temporary financial hardship subsidy or transition to work subsidy categories
providers apply for ACCS for the child wellbeing category. Early Learning Victoria applies on behalf of eligible families. ACCS is paid to Early Learning Victoria and passed on to eligible families by reducing their fee payable (gap fee) by the same amount
for children enrolled in an Early Learning Victoria integrated kindergarten program, Free Kinder funding will be applied as a fee offset fortnightly from fees charged to families
for children enrolled in an Early Learning Victoria sessional kindergarten program, Free Kinder funding will fully offset the cost to families of attending the sessional kindergarten program (for kindergarten days and hours only, during school terms only).

2.1 Requirements

Early Learning Victoria will provide clear and easy-to-understand information to families about fees payable and the processes and procedures used for fee payments.
Fees for all Early Learning Victoria centres are set and approved by July each year and are published online for current and prospective families to read.
Families must ensure they understand their fee payment responsibilities at the time of enrolment and seek clarification from centre directors or Early Learning Victoria central office staff if needed.
Centre directors and Early Learning Victoria central office staff must respond to requests for clarification from current and prospective families, clearly communicating fee payment policies and procedures.
Families must provide Early Learning Victoria with all information needed for fee payment processes and procedures. This includes providing correct bank details, ensuring sufficient funds are available, and ensuring that their enrolment bookings are correct in the Kidsoft parent portal.
Families wishing to claim CCS (and ACCS, if applicable) must register with Centrelink and lodge a claim as soon as possible after being offered a place at an Early Learning Victoria centre. Families are strongly encouraged to apply before enrolling their child.
Early Learning Victoria can offer support and information about CCS to families but is not directly involved in claiming CCS. (The exception is the ACCS category of child wellbeing.) Eligibility for CCS/ACCS and the subsidy amount is determined by Centrelink.
In determining the fees payable by each family for their child’s bookings, Early Learning Victoria must apply any subsidies or discounts for which a family is eligible (for example, Free Kinder offset).
Early Learning Victoria must notify families in the event of a failed payment, and work with families to arrange payment. If suitable arrangements cannot be made, Early Learning Victoria must follow debt management procedures.

3. Information for families

Current and prospective families can view fee information for all Early Learning Victoria centres on the Early Learning Victoria website.
Attachment 1 lists the 2025 schedule of fees. These are the ‘headline fees’ for each centre before CCS or any other subsidies or discounts, and before other fees that may apply under certain circumstances.
Fees are updated in the middle of each year, beginning from the calendar year after each centre’s opening year. For example, centres opening in 2025 have their first fee update in mid-2026. Early Learning Victoria will give families a minimum of 2 weeks’ notice before a fee update takes effect.
Families can contact their centre director for support with questions about fee subsidies, including about CCS/ACCS and Free Kinder.
Families are strongly encouraged to lodge their claim for CCS/ACCS (if applicable) before enrolling their child at an Early Learning Victoria centre. If CCS eligibility has not been established when a child starts attending the centre, the account holder will be liable to pay full fees to Early Learning Victoria until the claim is finalised. Under current CCS guidelines, when care is provided before a family’s CCS eligibility and entitlement are confirmed, Services Australia will pay any backdated CCS amounts directly to the family.
Families will be asked to accept the terms and conditions of enrolment by formally accepting an enrolment arrangement with Early Learning Victoria via Kidsoft.
This acceptance is required under Family Assistance Law, and will take one of the following forms:
- a Complying Written Arrangement, for enrolments where families wish to claim CCS/ACCS. This contains details of the care to be provided and fees to be charged
- a Relevant Arrangement, for enrolments where the family has advised that they will not claim CCS/ACCS
- an arrangement with an organisation, for enrolments where a third-party organisation (such as an employer) will be responsible for paying childcare fees on behalf of the child.
After a family has accepted the enrolment arrangement, Early Learning Victoria will submit an enrolment notice to Services Australia with details of the enrolment arrangement.
Centrelink will notify families and ask them to confirm the details on the enrolment notice via their Centrelink account. Once this is confirmed, Centrelink will calculate CCS/ACCS eligibility and can begin making payments to Early Learning Victoria for the enrolled child or children.
There are no daily fees payable for attendance at a sessional kindergarten program at Early Learning Victoria centres (where sessional kindergarten is offered). However, families enrolling their child in a sessional kindergarten program will be liable to pay:
- standard daily fees (less any subsidies) if they book their child for casual long day care for days outside the sessional kindergarten program (for example, during school holidays)
- late collection fees, if they collect their child after the sessional pick-up time specified for their centre
- fees for any purchases of ancillary goods or services (optional items that families may choose to buy from a centre, such as an Early Learning Victoria branded sun hat).
Orientation days take place before a child’s official start date at an Early Learning Victoria centre. Families will be offered (and encouraged to take up) at least 2 orientation sessions before their child’s official start date.
During an orientation session, families must remain at the centre, so that their child’s attendance does not count in educator-to-child ratios. This is the required number of educators working directly with children. The number of educators depends on the number of children in attendance, and their ages.
Families will be charged for attendance at orientation if they drop off their child at the centre and leave the premises. This will be treated as a normal booked day.
From the child’s official start date, families will be charged standard daily fees for their child’s attendance, even if they choose to remain on the centre premises for part or all of the day. This enables Early Learning Victoria to cover the cost of providing children with education and care services after orientation is complete.
Families are encouraged to discuss any concerns they have about their child’s settling-in after orientation with their centre director and room staff.
Families will be billed fortnightly, aligning with the CCS fortnight.
Direct debit from a nominated bank account is the default method of payment. This meets the Family Assistance Law requirement that, as of 1 July 2023, families must pay fees using electronic payment methods.
Families supply direct debit bank account details and authorisation at enrolment, with fees to be debited from this account. Families are responsible for notifying the centre of any changes to their bank details.
Direct debit from a credit card is not currently available as a payment method.
Early Learning Victoria will fund the transaction fee of $0.79 for each direct debit payment made by families from their nominated bank account. The direct debit transaction will appear on a family’s bank statement with the reference ‘ELV80xx Fee’, where ‘xx’ is a code corresponding to the specific Early Learning Victoria centre.
Each fortnight, Early Learning Victoria will provide families with a customer account statement via Kidsoft. This will meet the requirements of the Statement of Entitlement under Family Assistance Law and will include details of:
- sessions of care provided, with daily and weekly totals
- any allowable absences. These are days when Early Learning Victoria is taken to have provided a session of care to a child while the child was absent that are within the 42 allowable days per financial year
- any additional absences. These are days when Early Learning Victoria is taken to have provided a session of care to a child while the child was absent that are beyond the 42 allowable days per financial year, and to which particular circumstances apply
- the hourly session fee charged for each session of care
- daily and weekly totals of the amount of all fees charged by Early Learning Victoria for care provided during the statement period
- details of any fee discounts or reductions (CCS, ACCS, staff discount and Free Kinder are separately identified and itemised)
- the gap fee charged to families
- any additional fees, such as late collection fees.
The customer account statement will be issued 2 days before the direct debit transaction is made. This means families can:
- ensure they have sufficient funds available in their nominated bank account
- contact their centre director with any questions or concerns about the statement or the amount to be debited.
Families should contact their centre director if they cannot pay by standard direct debit. On request, Early Learning Victoria can arrange for families unwilling or unable to pay by standard direct debit to instead make direct payment via the Kidsoft parent portal.
Families are not charged daily fees for booked days when the centre is not operating. These include:
- public holidays
- December to January shutdown days
- when emergencies require the centre to be closed for one or more full days (for example, bushfire days)
- all staff professional development days.
Early Learning Victoria will notify families at the beginning of each calendar year about their centre’s days and times of operation, including any planned closures. Families will be given at least 2 weeks’ notice of a change to centre days and times of operation and closure days, unless the change is due to an emergency. Families will be notified of emergency changes to days and times of operation, or closures, as soon as practicable.
Families are charged daily fees for booked days when the centre is operating but their child is absent for any reason. The exceptions are:
- if the family has given at least 2 weeks’ notice of a permanent change to their child’s regular booked days (for example, they no longer require Wednesdays)
- if the child’s enrolment at the centre has ceased.
These days will then be made available as ongoing bookings to existing and waitlisted families, in accordance with the priority of access policy outlined in the Enrolment and orientation policy.
Free Kinder is a Victorian Government incentive that provides funding to kindergarten and long day care services to deliver high-quality kindergarten programs in the 2 years before school.
For children enrolled in an Early Learning Victoria integrated kindergarten program, the Free Kinder funding is applied as a rebate and reduces the cost of childcare fees. Early Learning Victoria will deduct the Free Kinder fee offset fortnightly from fees charged to families of funded kindergarten children enrolled in Early Learning Victoria centres. The Free Kinder fee reduction will be clearly indicated as ‘Victorian Government Free Kinder offset’ on families’ customer account statements.
For children enrolled in an Early Learning Victoria sessional kindergarten (selected Early Learning Victoria centres only), Free Kinder funding fully offsets the cost to families of attending the sessional kindergarten program (for kindergarten days and hours only, during school terms only).
To be eligible for Free Kinder, for either an Early Learning Victoria sessional kindergarten or integrated kindergarten, families must complete the ‘Funded kindergarten place declaration form’ to nominate their Early Learning Victoria centre as the service where they would like their child to complete a funded kindergarten program. Families can do this at the time of enrolment. This allows Early Learning Victoria to claim the Free Kinder subsidy.
Families must collect their child before the required pick-up time. The pick-up time is defined as:
- the closing time for that centre, or
- the session end-time for children enrolled in sessional kindergarten only.
Operating hours for each centre, and session times for children enrolled in sessional kindergarten (where offered), are provided by each Early Learning Victoria centre and are also published on the Early Learning Victoria website.
Late collection of children has an impact on centre staff. It can force staff to work unplanned overtime, affecting their ability to meet family or personal commitments. Early Learning Victoria charges a late collection fee to cover additional wages, discourage late collection of children and to respect staff members’ time.
A late collection fee is payable if a child is collected from a centre after pick-up time.
If the child is collected within 15 minutes of pick-up time, the late collection fee payable is $15.
If the child is collected more than 15 minutes after pick-up time, the late fee is $1 per minute that has passed between pick-up time and the time the child is collected.
Centre directors will communicate with families to ensure fee policy settings are well understood. They will respectfully seek information about any hardship or extenuating circumstances (for example, illness or unemployment) that could affect:
- families’ ability to pay fees incurred, in full and on time
- families’ ability to collect their child before pick-up time.
Families experiencing financial difficulties (for example, due to loss of employment) should contact their centre director as soon as possible to discuss payment arrangements.
If a direct debit payment fails to be processed (‘bounces’) from a family’s bank account:
- Early Learning Victoria will cover the $4 failed payment (dishonour) fee. This is the fee that is charged by iDebitPro, the secure payment gateway used to process fees, for each failed direct debit payment
- Early Learning Victoria will notify the family and ask that they either arrange payment within one week or talk to their centre director if they are experiencing financial difficulties.
If a family has not paid after 2 weeks from the date of the failed payment, Early Learning Victoria central office staff will contact the family to discuss the situation and make payment arrangements. Early Learning Victoria central office staff may seek additional information from the centre director about the family’s specific circumstances.
If a family has not paid fees owing for 2 billing periods (i.e. 4 weeks), and Early Learning Victoria central office staff are unable to establish alternative payment arrangements, the child’s enrolment will be suspended. During this period:
- the child will not be able to attend the centre
- booked days will be made available to other families for casual bookings
- Early Learning Victoria central office staff will work with the family to gauge whether their financial and personal circumstances are likely to enable continued enrolment and payment of fees. For example, if a family has experienced job-loss, Early Learning Victoria central office staff may support the family to apply for additional assistance, such as ACCS, or place the child on the waitlist until the parent or carer is re-employed and is in a position to pay for childcare.
If no satisfactory arrangement can be reached, the child’s enrolment will be discontinued. This is subject to sign-off by the Early Learning Victoria ‘person with management or control’ (PMC) (or their delegate). Booked days will be made available to other families at the centre and to those on the waitlist. Note that:
- cessation of enrolment is a last resort. Early Learning Victoria’s aim is to support access by all, including families and children experiencing vulnerability and disadvantage
- cessation of enrolment may still be deemed necessary if there is no practical way forward. This extends the principle of fairness to other families on the waitlist in need of childcare, and also helps ensure the ongoing financial viability of Early Learning Victoria services.

3.1 Responsibilities of families

Families are responsible for:

ensuring they have read and understood the fee information provided by Early Learning Victoria, including the daily fee for their Early Learning Victoria centre, payment processes and procedures
confirming their acceptance of the conditions of enrolment, including fee arrangements, by reading and signing the enrolment arrangement via Kidsoft
ensuring they have provided Early Learning Victoria with complete and accurate information to enable fee payments to be processed.

Families need to:

provide correct bank details and authorisation for direct debit, unless alternative payment methods have been arranged
complete and lodge a funded kindergarten place declaration form (available from Early Learning Victoria centres) if applying to have their child complete their funded kindergarten program at the Early Learning Victoria centre. This will enable Early Learning Victoria to apply the Free Kinder subsidy on families’ behalf, if applicable.

If wishing to claim CCS/ACCS, families are responsible for:

registering with Centrelink and lodging a claim for CCS/ACCS, as relevant
providing accurate income estimates and any other required information to Centrelink, so that their subsidy can be calculated and applied correctly
providing Centrelink details for parents or carers and the child or children to Early Learning Victoria, so Early Learning Victoria can receive CCS/ACCS on their behalf (if applicable) and pass these on as a fee reduction
reading and accepting the Complying Written Arrangement with Early Learning Victoria (or alternative enrolment arrangement)
confirming the enrolment notice sent by Centrelink, so that CCS/ACCS payments can be calculated and processed
ensuring their child physically attends the Early Learning Victoria centre on the first booked day of their enrolment, unless an approved reason applies under Family Assistance Law (for example, illness evidenced by a medical certificate). This is because CCS will not be paid for absences before the first day of physical attendance, unless an approved reason applies, meaning families will be charged full fees for those absent days
ensuring their child physically attends the Early Learning Victoria centre on the last booked day of their enrolment. This is because CCS will not be paid for absences after a child’s last day of physical attendance, unless an approved reason applies, meaning the family will be charged full fees for those absent days.

In addition, families also need to remember to:

update any of the above details as soon as possible if they change, to enable accurate calculation and processing of fee payments, and to avoid problems such as failed direct debit payments or CCS/ACCS overpayments
contact their centre director if they have questions or are unclear about any of the fee payment policies, procedures or processes
ensure they have sufficient funds available in their account each fortnight to enable direct debit payments to be processed
contact their centre director immediately to arrange payment if they receive a notification that a payment has not been processed (has ‘bounced’ or failed due to insufficient funds or incorrect bank details)
contact their centre director as soon as possible if they anticipate any difficulties in meeting fee payments, require alternative payment methods, or are experiencing financial hardship.

4. Information for staff

4.1 Responsibilities of staff

Early Learning Victoria centre staff are responsible for:
- referring any queries from families about fee payment policy, procedures or processes to the centre director (or assistant director, where applicable).
Centre directors are responsible for:
- ensuring they understand and can explain the fee information provided by Early Learning Victoria, including the daily fee for their centre, and all payment processes and procedures
- notifying families of any changes to the fee schedule, fees policy, processes or procedures at least 14 days before the change takes effect
- contacting Early Learning Victoria central office with any questions or clarifications
- explaining to families during orientation the importance of attending the first booked day and last booked day of enrolment (unless an allowable reason applies under Family Assistance Law, if they wish to claim CCS/ACCS and avoid being charged full fees for absences before their first day of physical attendance)
- responding to any questions or requests for clarification from families relating to fee payments by explaining aspects of fee policy, processes and procedures that may be unclear
- ensuring all children are correctly signed in and out on Kidsoft, so that the Kidsoft system can generate and submit session reports to enable CCS to be paid
- assisting a family to update their personal or bank details on Kidsoft to ensure accurate billing, if requested
- reviewing a family’s fee statement via Kidsoft and assisting them to understand and reconcile the fees billed, if requested
- assisting families to access further information about fees and subsidies that may be relevant to their circumstances, for example, on eligibility for ACCS
- contacting Early Learning Victoria central office on a family’s behalf to arrange an alternative payment option, if requested, and following up to ensure that this arrangement is set up correctly
- contacting Early Learning Victoria central office on a family’s behalf if there appear to be errors or inconsistencies in a fee statement or billing amount that they are unable to explain or fix via Kidsoft.
Centre directors can recommend that fees are waived or refunded if families are experiencing temporary financial hardship due to:
- unexpected loss of employment (not including resignation or retirement)
- loss of income or business failure due to circumstances outside the family’s control
- severe damage to or destruction of, the family’s home.
They may also take into account compassionate circumstances including:
- death of a partner or child
- leaving home due to experiencing family violence.
Centre directors can also recommend a fee refund if a family’s account is in credit due to adjustments in CCS.
Before recommending a waiver or refund, centre directors should consider whether the family might be eligible for ACCS and, if appropriate, support the family to apply for this subsidy (or apply for the child wellbeing ACCS on the family’s behalf, if they believe the child is at risk of serious abuse or neglect).
If recommending waivers or refunds, centre directors must ensure that they:
- contact Early Learning Victoria central office for assistance in implementing waivers or refunds as a change to a family’s invoice in Kidsoft
- keep records of the reason for any waivers or refunds for review by Early Learning Victoria central office as needed.
They should also implement the debt management procedures:
- notify a family via email as soon as possible after a failed payment, asking that the family makes payment directly via the Kidsoft parent portal
- notify the Early Learning Victoria central office if a family has not paid fees owing for 2 weeks from the date of a failed payment, so that central office staff can follow up with the family
- provide any further information to Early Learning Victoria central office to assist them in engaging with the family on debt management.
The Early Learning Victoria central office family engagement team are responsible for:
- ensuring they understand and can explain the fee information provided by Early Learning Victoria, including the daily fees for all centres, and all payment processes and procedures
- supporting the PMC, as requested, in annually reviewing and updating the schedule of fees for all Early Learning Victoria centres
- responding to any questions or requests for clarification from centre directors relating to fee payments, including by explaining aspects of fee policy and processes that may be unclear to families, and assisting families to access further information about fees and subsidies that may be relevant to their circumstances, for example, ACCS
- working with Kidsoft to ensure that invoicing and billing processes run smoothly via the Kidsoft platform, including:
  - ensuring that session reports are submitted to Services Australia at the end of each week for each enrolled child, detailing the sessions of care provided, attendance, absences and fees charged (to enable CCS to be received where eligible)
  - ensuring that families receive a fortnightly Statement of Entitlement detailing the sessions of care provided under a child’s enrolment, the child’s attendance and absences, and a breakdown of fees and any fee subsidies and reductions applied
  - ensuring that all records of families’ enrolment and fee information, invoices and statements are kept in accordance with the Privacy policy and the Records management policy.
- implementing debt management procedures. This means:
  - if a family has not paid fees owing for 2 weeks, contacting the family to discuss the situation and make payment arrangements
  - if no alternative arrangements can be reached, and the family has not paid fees owing for 2 billing periods (i.e. 4 weeks):
    notifying the family that their child’s enrolment is temporarily suspended and their child will not be allowed to attend the centre until the debt has been resolved
    cancelling the child’s booked days and making them available to other families for casual bookings via Kidsoft
    escalating the situation to the PMC for review and a decision on next steps (debt collection or debt write-off)
    in accordance with the decision made by the PMC (CEO, who may delegate this power), arranging debt collection or debt write-off.
Staff members involved in the department’s Financial Accounting and Reporting (FAR) Team are responsible for:
- ensuring fee payments are processed and receipted correctly
- arranging for the refund of any fees or amounts charged in error
- applying waivers or refunds that have been recommended by a nominated supervisor or person in day-to-day charge and approved by the PMC
- following up on any waivers or refunds recommended by a nominated supervisor or person in day-to-day charge that appear unusual or that raise concern. These circumstances could include (but are not limited to) where:
  - the waiver or refund is relatively large, for example, greater than $500
  - there have been several successive waivers or refunds made to the same family, for example, more than 3 in a row
  - there have been many waivers or refunds made at the centre over a short period, for example, more than 10 in a month.
In the above circumstances, the FAR team staff member should request that a member of the Early Learning Victoria family engagement team:
- contact the centre director, nominated supervisor or person in day-to-day charge to discuss the reasons for the recommended waiver/s or refund/s, including supporting documentation
- escalate the matter to the approved provider or PMC if concerns remain unresolved after discussion with the nominated supervisor or person in day-to-day charge, including documentation of attempts to resolve these concerns.
The approved provider or PMC is responsible for reviewing and updating the schedule of fees for all Early Learning Victoria centres annually, in accordance with Victorian Government fee settings as published via Ministerial Order.
They, or their delegate, must also:
- notify Early Learning Victoria centres of any upcoming changes to the fee schedule or to fees policy, processes and procedures, at least 4 weeks before changes are to take effect
- approve the waiver or refunding of fees, where the waiver or refund has been recommended by a nominated supervisor and reviewed by the Early Learning Victoria family engagement team.
Where a family has not paid fees owing for 2 billing periods (i.e. 4 weeks), and the nominated supervisor (assisted by Early Learning Victoria central office staff within the family engagement team) has been unable to establish alternative payment arrangements, the approved provider or PMC will undertake work to better understand the issue. This means:
- reviewing documentation provided by the nominated supervisor and the Early Learning Victoria family engagement team about:
  - the family’s circumstances and reasons for non-payment
  - actions to date in developing or exploring alternative payment arrangements
  - whether the family’s financial and personal circumstances are likely to enable continued enrolment and ability to pay.
If there is insufficient evidence to indicate that the family will be able to continue to meet fee payments in respect of their child’s enrolment, the approved provider or PMC (or their delegate) may:
- approve cessation of the child’s enrolment
- arrange for the formal communication of this decision to the centre and the family
- determine the extent to which the outstanding debt should be collected or written off, and requesting the FAR team to assist in arranging debt collection or write-off.

5. Resources

Legislation and standards

Education and Care Services National Law Act 2010
Education and Care Services National Regulations 2011
National Quality Standard, Quality area 7.1: Governance
Family Assistance Law as set out in the Child Care Provider Handbook, which includes the Family Assistance Act, Child Care Subsidy Minister’s Rules and Secretary’s Rules, and any other instruments or regulations made under the Act.

Enrolment and orientation policy
Family and community communications policy
Governance and management policy
Privacy policy
Records management policy

Attachments

Attachment 1: 2025 Schedule of Fees

Definitions

Approved provider: The legal entity that is approved to operate an education and care service and is legally responsible for managing the service and holds a provider approval (National Law). A provider approval authorises a person or organisation to apply for one or more service approvals and is valid in all jurisdictions.

Child Care Subsidy (CCS): A Commonwealth payment made to approved providers, who pass it on to families as a fee reduction. Families must make a co-contribution by paying the gap fee. Providers must report fee information to the government.

Children: Refers to each baby, toddler, three- to five-year-old and school age child and means children as individuals and as members of a group in the education and care setting, unless otherwise stated. It is inclusive of children from all social, cultural and linguistic backgrounds and of their learning styles, abilities, disabilities, gender, family circumstances and geographic locations.

Families: The National Law defines families as (a) a parent, grandparent, brother, sister, uncle, aunt, or cousin of the child, whether of the whole blood or half-blood and whether that relationship arises by marriage (including a de facto relationship) or by adoption or otherwise; or (b) a relative of the child according to Aboriginal or Torres Strait Islander tradition; or (c) a person with whom the child resides in a family-like relationship; or (d) a person who is recognised in the child's community as having a familial role in respect of the child.

Free Kinder: An annual payment made to kindergarten providers by the Department of Education in respect of each funded kindergarten child. For children enrolled in kindergarten within a long day care program, this payment is offset against parent fees, after Child Care Subsidy has been applied. For children enrolled in a sessional kindergarten program, the kindergarten provider keeps the Free Kinder payment and does not charge parents any fees for their child to attend the kindergarten program.

National Quality Standard (NQS): The NQS sets a national benchmark for the quality of children’s education and care services. The NQS is comprised of guiding principles, quality areas, standards, and elements. There are 7 quality areas which capture aspects critical to the provision of quality education and care.

Nominated supervisor: A person who has been nominated by the approved provider of the service under Part 3 of the Act can be the nominated supervisor. All services must have a nominated supervisor with responsibility for the service in accordance with the National Regulations. The approved provider must take reasonable steps to ensure the nominated supervisor is a fit and proper person with suitable skills, qualifications and experience. The Regulatory Authority must be notified if the nominated supervisor for the service changes or is no longer employed at the service within 14 days.

Parent: In relation to a child, includes:

a guardian of the child
a person who has parental responsibility for the child under a decision or order of a court (National Law).

Person in day-to-day charge: A person is in day-to-day charge of an education and care service if:

the person is placed in day-to-day charge by the approved provider or a nominated supervisor of the service; and
the person consents to the placement in writing.

Person with management or control (PMC): The persons within or outside the approved provider who are responsible for managing the delivery of the provider’s service(s) or who have significant influence over the activities or delivery of the service. A PMC has the same legal responsibility for the safety, health and wellbeing of children at their service as an approved provider. A nominated supervisor, person in day-to-day charge of a service, or a person who holds other operational management roles in a service (such as a centre manager) would not meet the PMC definition. People holding these roles will only meet the PMC definition if they also participate in executive or financial decision-making or have authority or responsibility for, or significant influence over, the planning, direction or control of the activities or the delivery of the education and care service.

Working directly with children: Being physically present with children and directly engaged in providing them with education and/or care.

Education

Updated 15 January 2025