Are you opening a new child care service? Have you thought about the Child Care Benefit (CCB) and Child Care Rebate (CCR)? Currently all parents are entitled to CCR, this can be paid directly to the parent instead of the service (as can CCB however not many parents request lump sum payments of CCB). These schemes are definitely something every child care service should be a part of. In this blog I’ll explain what the benefits of being an approved CCB service are, what you need to do to become eligible and what other government funding opportunities are available to you.
Why should you register your child care service for the CCB scheme?
- You are a more attractive option to parents who are entitled to the CCR and CCB than those services who are not registered. Why? Because the Australian government will pay a percentage of the child care fees on behalf of the parents. The amount can vary, but it can be more than 50% and in some cases up to 100% of the total fee.
- If the parent elects it, the government will pay the full rebate directly into your child care service’s bank account within three days of you submitting the notice. This alleviates some of the risk for your service. You don’t have to wait for parents to pay the full amount owed and then possibly have to chase them for late payments when they don’t pay on the due date.
What services are eligible for CCB approval?
- Long Day Care Service (LDC)
- Family Day Care Service (FDC)
- Outside School Hours Care (OSHC)
- After School Care (ASC)
- Before School Care (BSC)
- Vacation care (VAC)
- Occasional Care (OCC)
How to apply for CCB approval
The Department of Education now has an online process that details the steps on how to apply for CCB approval. It includes:
- The online application form for child care service approval. Note : this is an editable pdf so you will need to download it and open in Adobe.
- Required documents: What different legal entities need to be provided
- FAQs on becoming an approved child care service under the family assistance law
- Legislative extracts which provide a summary of the legislative extracts for approval and continued approval under the family assistance law
What other funding can a new child care service be eligible for?
According to The Department, new child care services may be eligible for funding under the Child Care Services Support Programme. This is made up of two programmes:
Community Support Programme (CSP)
This programme financially assists child care providers to establish or maintain sustainable services in parts of Australia where they might not have been viable or able to meet the unique requirements of the community, such as in disadvantaged or regional and remote areas.
Inclusion and Professional Support Programme (IPSP)
The purpose of this programme is to maintain high-quality, inclusive education and care for all kids including those with ongoing high-support needs within eligible child care and early learning settings. The programme achieves this by providing professional development to early childhood educators as well as advice and access to additional resources and inclusion support. The programme increases the knowledge and skills of early childhood educators and the capacity of the services available.
As you can see there’s a lot of support out there for new service providers, so be sure to explore every opportunity there is to get the best start for your service.
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