Occasional Child Care Latest News – New Federal funding announced

Last week Federal Minister for Employment Participation and Child Care Kate Ellis MP announced the creation of more than 1,500 new occasional and in-home child care places. It is estimated that around 250 new Commonwealth funded occasional child care (OCC) places will be allocated in Victoria.

What are the implications for Neighbourhood Houses and Learning Centres?

The new Commonwealth funded OCC places will ultimately be allocated to providers that are approved to administer Child Care Benefit (CCB) on behalf of families. However, you can submit an application for the places even if you are not yet CCB approved. This announcement creates the potential for more Victorian occasional child care providers to apply to become approved to administer CCB.

 The Association of Neighbourhood Houses & Learning Centres (ANHLC) has campaigned for many years to enable more OCC providers to become Commonwealth approved care providers, as it enables eligible families who take up these places to claim CCB and the Child Care Rebate (CCR) to offset child care fees, while giving providers Operational Support funding. (Operational support funding varies by location. In 2011-12, for example, providers in major cities and inner regional areas were paid $28.80 per approved OCC place; those in remote and very remote areas were paid $37.45 per place)

 ANHLC therefore welcomes this announcement. While it will not plug the gap left by the withdrawal of Take A Break program funding, it is a step in the right direction and provides an opportunity for some providers to sustain affordable OCC services in their communities.

 After months of saying no more child care funding would be allocated to Victoria, this announcement also demonstrates that Minister Ellis has heard the message about how important occasional child care is to Victorian communities.

How will the new OCC places be allocated?

The Department of Education, Employment and Workplace Relations (DEEWR) cannot advertise the new places until the allocation determination passes into law – probably late-November 2011. Given the time of year, DEEWR anticipates advertising the places late-January 2012. Information on how to apply will be circulated through major newspapers and the regional press and on the DEEWR website. It is estimated that the application process will be open for 4-6 weeks.

Places will be allocated according to what Minister Ellis’s media release calls ‘relative need’. Specific selection criteria will be circulated as part of the application process and providers will need to apply against the criteria. Some likely priorities are:

• Facilitating workforce participation by delivering in areas where no other approved child care is available.

• Improving the availability of child care that meets the needs of regional and remote communities as defined by the ABS ARIA classification

• Addressing child care needs in highly vulnerable communities; evidence of vulnerability may include ABS data from the Australian Early Development Index (AEDI) and the Socio-Economic Indexes for Areas (SEIFA)

• Delivering an alternative child care option in communities where the provision of Long Day Care is not viable or appropriate to the needs of the community.

It will be up to individual providers to determine how many places they apply for, noting that one place, defined under family assistance law as 40 hours per week, might be utilised by several children.

Not all applications will be successful.

Applying to deliver places vs. applying to become CCB approved

You will ultimately need to be CCB approved in order to receive an allocation of approved OCC places. However, you do not need to be approved before you apply for places and your service will not be disadvantaged if you are not CCB approved prior to applying for the places. DEEWR can approve the allocation of places in principle, though the places will not be allocated unless or until your service meets the conditions of approval as an OCC service under family assistance law.

If you believe your service is in a good position to meet the criteria to deliver some of the new Commonwealth funded places, it might be worth investigating the process of applying to become approved to administer CCB. Further information on becoming CCB approved can be provided by DEEWR. The number for the DEEWR office in Victoria is: 1800 112 812.

Approved OCC services are eligible to receive Commonwealth funding under the Community Support Program. The Commonwealth funded OCC program guidelines can be found on the DEEWR website: http://www.deewr.gov.au/EarlyChildhood/Resources/Documents/OCCFunding_201011.pdf

It is important to read through the guidelines to make an informed decision about whether it is feasible for your service to apply to become approved to administer Child Care Benefit.

What are the implications of the Federal government’s announcement for services previously funded through the Take A Break program?

Victorian Minister for Early Childhood Development Wendy Lovell has not yet formally responded to the Federal announcement as her office is still seeking information on the implications for Victorian OCC providers. ANHLC is writing to Minister Lovell to congratulate her on the success of our combined Federal government lobbying efforts and expressing the view that the Victorian government should now release its share of occasional child care program funding.

We recommend you make contact with your local State MP and give them the same message.