Billing – Families are billed on a fortnightly basis, so fees are expected to be paid two weeks in
advance. There are several payment options for families, including cash, debit card and credit card.
The service offers and encourages families to use ‘Centrepay’ to pay their fees directly through
Centrelink.
Late payment fees – Families will be notified when their fee payments are due. If fees are late the
service director will notify the family and may suggest a family start a payment plan (see below).
If fees remain unpaid the service director may, at their discretion, charge an additional late fee or in
exceptional circumstances refuse care of the child(ren) until payments are made.
Payment plans – Families who are having genuine difficulty paying their fees should be encouraged
to commence a payment plan with the service director. The payment plan should be designed to
clear debts while maintaining regular payments, and it should be sustainable for both parties. The
recommended payment each fortnight is 25%-50% (this % may change depending on families ability
to pay) of the family’s regular fees in addition to any new fees accruing. The service director will
write the payment plan and terms of agreement, and the family and service director will sign a copy
for each to keep.
Non-attendance days – When a child does not attend because the child or carer is ill a medical
certificate must be provided within 7 days, in such a circumstance the family will not be billed for a
session of care. Allowable absence days per child cannot exceed 42 days (except in exceptional
circumstances). Suitable reasons for allowable absence include:
• illness where a medical certificate is provided
• holidays (up to two period of two weeks of leave throughout each calendar year).
These periods must be confirmed in writing to the service director with at least two weeks notice.
If a child is absent for reasons such as public / family holidays, the family will continue to be charged
according to their booking.
Absence – If a child is to be absent, families must phone and inform the service as soon as possible.
Cancellation – Families must provide two weeks written notice if they want to cancel their booking.
Fees will continue to accrue until a written cancellation is received.
Enrolment deposit – Families are required to make a non-refundable deposit to secure their
enrolment. This will be reimbursed on the first bill to families. The deposit amount will be $30. If the
service director believes the deposit is preventing a family from accessing the service, the director
can reduce or waive the deposit.
What is the new Inclusion Support Programme?
The Inclusion Support Programme (ISP) will provide support to early childhood and child care (ECCC)
services to build their capacity and capability to include children with additional needs in mainstream services; providing them with an opportunity to learn and develop alongside their typically developing peers.
The ISP will commence on 1 July 2016, following the closure of the Inclusion and Professional
Support Program (IPSP) on 30 June 2016.
What support is available in ISP?
Families and children with additional needs benefit through improved inclusion and capability for
mainstream ECCC services to provide quality care environments for children with additional needs.
This is why ISP provides support directly to ECCC services to help achieve this.
Support available to eligible ECCC services includes:
- Support from an Inclusion Agency (IA) in each jurisdiction to assist services to build their
capacity and capability to provide and embed inclusive practice in their delivery of early
learning and care programmes. This will occur through the development of a Strategic
Inclusion Plan (SIP), which looks at the current capacity and capability of a service through a
strengths based approach. Section A of the ISP Guidelines has further information about the
role of the IA. - Specialist Equipment Library in each jurisdiction allowing eligible ECCC services to borrow
equipment to facilitate and support the inclusion of a child (or children) with additional
needs. Section A3.1 of the ISP Guidelines has further information about the Specialist
Equipment Library. - Funding from one of the four funding streams of the Inclusion Development Fund (IDF) to
address a barrier to inclusion that cannot be resolved through support from an IA or the
Specialist Equipment Library. Sections B, C, D, E and F of the ISP Guidelines outline the IDF
and how services can apply for support.