Aboriginal playgroups give young children below school age the chance to socialise and interact with other children and adults. Parents are usually involved in the children's activities. Playgroups also provide a good opportunity for parents to talk and share common experiences. Enrichment programs may provide supervised care, organised activities, homework centres and nutrition services to school age children and teenagers.
While Commonwealth Child Care Benefit is not available to playgroups, Commonwealth funding helps to establish and support playgroup associations, to produce newsletters and develop ideas for suitable activities.
For information about the availability of playgroups in your local area, contact your State or Territory's Playgroup Association.
In Home Care is a child care initiative announced as part of the Commonwealth's Stronger Families and Communities Strategy. Eligible families may have child care provided in their own home (where care is available).
In Home Care places are targeted to families who have no access to existing child care services, and/or their circumstances mean that an existing child care service cannot meet their needs, and where the family meets one or more of the following criteria:
- the child has, or lives with another child who has an illness or a disability;
- the child's guardian (or guardian's partner) has an illness or disability that affects their ability to care for the child;
- the child lives in a rural or remote area;
- the work hours of the child's guardian (or guardian's partner) are hours when no other approved child care service is available;
- the child's guardian (or guardian's partner) is caring for three or more children who have not yet started school.
The Department will continue to have discretion to allow exemptions to the eligibility criteria for a family in special and exceptional circumstances. Services will be required to contact the Department in such circumstances.
- Fact Sheet - In Home Care Review and Changes - PDF
(111.4 KB)
- Final Evaluation Report: In Home Care - PDF (749.6 KB)
- Application for Approval under Family Assistance law for the purposes of Child Care Benefit - In Home Care (New Applicants must complete this form) - PDF (235.5 KB)
- Operational Guidelines for In Home Care
In September 2007, we wrote to IHC service providers, inviting them to provide feedback to the draft minimum standards being developed for IHC. This feedback period has now closed.
Thank you to all who provided feedback. Your feedback will be considered in the development of the final draft of the standards.
Following the approval of the Minister, the interim IHC standards will be applied to all In Home Care services. Adherence to the approved standards will be required under the terms of the existing 2007-08 funding agreements with services. These standards will be published on the IHC webpage and services notified when this occurs.
If you have questions, please submit them to ihc@deewr.gov.au or telephone 1800 668 356.
Long day care is a centre-based form of child care service. Long day care services provide quality all day or part-time care for children of working families and the general community. Private operators, local councils, community organisations, employers or non-profit organisations may run these services.
The Australian Government funds long day care services to provide care predominantly for non-school children, whose parents are working, undertaking vocational study, training or looking for work.Some services provide care for limited numbers of primary school children before and after school, and during school holidays.The service must:
- provide care to children, the majority of whom are under school age and who attend the service on a regular basis. If there are vacancies at the beginning or end of the day, the service may provide care for school children if this meets state or territory licensing guidelines
- be open to the general public. This is not applicable to employer-operated services or employer-sponsored places in funded services unless they are under-utilised (see below).
Non work-related care
Services may provide respite care and other non work-related child care but should always give attention to families needing work-related care.
Mobile children's services visit remote areas to provide occasional care, school holiday care, playgroups, story telling, games and toy library services. They also provide broader information and support for parents.
MACS provide a flexible service to meet the social and developmental needs of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander children. MACS offer care for preschool and school aged children including long day care, playgroups, outside school hours care, school holiday care and cultural programs.
Occasional care is a unique child care service that supports families by providing flexible care for children from birth to school age. Families can access occasional care regularly or irregularly. Occasional care allows the flexibility to leave children in an early childhood learning environment to socialise and interact with other children.
Community organisations, non-profit organisations or local councils may run occasional care services. Occasional care is available to children under school age.
Outside school hours care services provide care mainly for primary school children before and/or after school and during vacation time. In some services, care is also provided on pupil-free days during the school term. Some services also provide vacation care or are linked to other vacation care services to provide care for primary school children all year.
Since 1 January 2001, other providers, including private providers, may operate an outside school hours care service. These services focus on stimulating developmental, social and recreational activities for children, while meeting the care requirements of families. They are usually set up in or close to primary schools.
They may also be situated in other locations such as community centres, halls, neighbourhood houses or recreation centres. Outside school hours and vacation care services are funded mainly for primary school children, but can assist children outside this age range in special or emergency situations.
The attendance of such children must be discussed with the Department of Families, Community Services and Indigenous Affairs and reviewed on a regular basis. If there are vacancies, out-of-area children should be accepted, especially if the level of utilisation of the service is low. Transport to the service is the responsibility of the parent. The service must not restrict the attendance of primary school children in order to offer care to older or younger children.
Vacation care services provide care, including creative indoor and outdoor activities during the school holidays for primary school children.
A vacation care service must be available for a child for at least eight continuous hours on each normal working day. This must be over a period of at least seven weeks of school holidays in a year.
Related information
Family day care is a network of caregivers who provide care and developmental activities in their own homes for other people's children. Family day care schemes support and administer a network of carers and receive an operational subsidy from the government. Since 1 January 2001, other providers, including private providers, may operate a family day care scheme.
The scheme is responsible for the effective operation of all components of family day care, including recruiting, training and supporting carers, monitoring care provision and providing advice, support and information for parents. They also assist parents to select an appropriate carer for their child.
A family day care scheme can provide flexible hours of care including long day care, and part-time or casual care. For families who are on call or work shifts, care may be available overnight or on weekends.
Services may provide respite care and other non work-related child care in line with Priority of Access Guidelines. Care can also be provided for school children before and after school and during school holidays for families who are:
- seasonal or sessional workers
- in emergency situations
Family day care is aimed primarily at children from birth to five years but can assist primary school children and may assist older children in special or emergency situations.
Schemes must be open to the general community. Parents do not have to be Australian residents to use a scheme. Child Care Benefit (CCB), however, is usually only paid for children whose parents are Australian residents.
Family Day Care Activity Report and Carer Spreadsheet
All Family day care (FDC) services are required to complete the Activity Report and Carer Spreadsheet to satisfy their contractual obligations with the Australian Government Department of Education, Employment and Workplace Relations (DEEWR). The data from these documents help the department to build a more comprehensive picture of FDC services and how they operate.
All Family Day Care services need to complete the Activity Report and Carer Spreadsheet by 28 October.
- Family Day Care Carer Spreadsheet Part C - XLS
(217.0 KB)
- Family Day Care Activity Report - PDF (111.9 KB) | RTF
(879.6 KB)
If you have difficulties downloading these documents please call the department on 1300 653 227.
Community Support Payments
The frequently asked questions provide information on payment eligibility, rate calculation and transitional assistance for community support payments.
- Frequently Asked Questions about Family Day Care In Venue Care - PDF (22.8 KB) | RTF (42.2 KB)
Related information