mteb/FeedbackQARetrieval huggingface dataset:
Coronavirus (COVID-19) information and support
Frequently Asked Questions
Will I receive multiple Economic Support payments and if so, when?
Services Australia and the Department of Veterans' Affairs will automatically
deliver payments to eligible recipients with the first payment from 31 March
2020 and the second payment from 13 July 2020. A person can be eligible to
receive both the first and second support payment, however, they will only
receive $750 once in each round of payments, even if they receive more than
one qualifying payment or card.
Coronavirus (COVID-19) information and support
Frequently Asked Questions
Will the Coronavirus Supplement go onto my Cashless Debit Card?
If you are in receipt of an eligible income support payment and you are a
Cashless Debit Card participant, the Coronavirus Supplement will be treated
the same as your regular payments. The Coronavirus Supplement will go onto
your Cashless Debit Card using the same payment split that you currently
receive. That is, 80 per cent of the whole income support payment will be
placed onto your Cashless Debit Card and the remaining 20 per cent will be
placed into your regular bank account.
Coronavirus (COVID-19) information and support
Frequently Asked Questions
My claim for a qualifying payment or card has not yet been processed. Will I still get the Economic Support Payment?
If you have lodged a claim for one of the qualifying payments or concession
cards between 12 March 2020 and 13 April 2020, and the claim is subsequently
granted from a date on or before that period, you will receive the payment.
This will also apply for the second round of payments. So if you have lodged a
claim for one of the qualifying payments or concession on 10 July 2020, and
the claim is subsequently granted from a date on or before that date, you will
receive the payment.
Coronavirus (COVID-19) information and support
Frequently Asked Questions
Do people have to wait until 27 April 2020 to apply for a payment?
People can apply for a payment as soon as they need it.
The expanded eligibility and qualification criteria came into effect from 25
March 2020.
If a person qualifies for a payment before 25 March 2020 and has to serve a
waiting period (other than the Newly Arrived Residents Waiting Period), they
will receive a payment back to the date of their claim once the waiting period
is suspended.
Recent migrants will be able to have their Newly Arrived Resident's Waiting
Period waived from 25 March 2020.
Coronavirus (COVID-19) information and support
Frequently Asked Questions
Will I get paid the Economic Support payment if I receive Family Tax Benefit as a lump sum?
Yes. Recipients who claim Family Tax Benefit as a lump sum after the end of
the financial year will be eligible for the payment if they are eligible for
Family Tax Benefit in the 2019-20 and/or 2020-21 financial year and will
receive the Economic Support payment as part of their lump sum payment.
Coronavirus (COVID-19) information and support
Frequently Asked Questions
Will the Coronavirus Supplement go into my Income Management account?
If you are in receipt of an eligible income support payment and you are an
Income Management participant, the Coronavirus Supplement will be treated the
same as your regular payments. The same payment split that you currently
receive for your whole payment will still apply. The percentage that is placed
in your Income Management account will depend on which Income Management
measure you have been placed on.
Coronavirus (COVID-19) information and support
Frequently Asked Questions
What is the Economic Support Payment?
The Government is providing two separate $750 payments to social security,
veteran and other income support recipients and eligible concession card
holders. The first Economic Support Payment is for people who are receiving a
qualifying payment or card between 12 March 2020 and 13 April 2020
(inclusive), and was paid to majority of recipients by 17 April 2020. The
second Economic Support Payment is for people receiving a qualifying payment
or card on 10 July 2020 so long as they do not receive the Coronavirus
Supplement with their payment.
Early Childhood Education and Care COVID-19 Frequently Asked Questions
Early Childhood Education and Care Relief Package–information for providers and services
Will I still receive payments if my service is directed to close due to COVID-19?
Services are still eligible to receive payments where a health agency or state
or territory regulatory authority has directed a provider to close a service
due to COVID-19 related reasons. The department may ask the provider for
evidence to support the service’s claim that it has been directed to close.
A provider cannot make the decision to close the service and still be eligible
for the payment.
Early Childhood Education and Care COVID-19 Frequently Asked Questions
Information for families
Is there any extra support for families to help them find an early childhood education and care service during the COVID-19 pandemic?
Yes. A national toll free helpline has been set up to assist parents and
carers to find an early childhood education and care service during the
COVID-19 pandemic. Families can call the helpline on 1800 291 041 from 9:00 am
to 5:00 pm (AEST), Monday-Friday (excluding public holidays).
Helpline operators will provide advice for families about early childhood
education and care services available in their area during the pandemic.
Families, including essential workers and those with vulnerable children, can
also search for early childhood education and child care services online using
Starting Blocks or Child Care
Finder.
The Australian Children’s Education and Care Quality Authority (ACECQA) is
delivering the helpline on behalf of the Department of Education, Employment
and Skills. For more information, visit ACECQA.
Early Childhood Education and Care COVID-19 Frequently Asked Questions
Early Childhood Education and Care Relief Package and the Exceptional Circumstance Supplementary Payment—information for providers and services
How do I apply for additional funding?
Providers seeking an Exceptional Circumstance Supplementary Payment amount
should complete an online form and outline their circumstances.
The form is available at
dese.gov.au/covid-19/childcare.
Providers will be notified of the decision in writing.
Providers must tell the department if their income goes up due to receiving
extra state or government assistance. Please provide details regarding this
additional support to
ECECreliefpackage@dese.gov.au and put
the relevant application ID number in the email subject header.
In Home Care (IHC) providers, or large providers (those with 50 or more
services), should email
ECECreliefpackage@dese.gov.au to
request a service-level spreadsheet to complete. This streamlined process is
available to IHC and large providers even if not all services are eligible for
Exceptional Circumstance Supplementary Payments.
Early Childhood Education and Care COVID-19 Frequently Asked Questions
Early Childhood Education and Care Relief Package and the Exceptional Circumstance Supplementary Payment—information for providers and services
How long will it take to assess my application for an Exceptional Circumstance Supplementary Payment?
As each application is assessed on a case by case basis, we are unable to
provide an estimated processing time.
We will endeavour to assess all applications as quickly as possible. Providing
a complete application with supporting evidence and all your correct ID and
reference numbers will assist in processing your application efficiently.
Before lodging your application we encourage you to:

consider the tips in this FAQ document about completing your application
monitor the DESE website for information about upcoming webinars that will provide additional information about completing your application
carefully check all identity and registration numbers provided; and
ensure you have uploaded evidence to support any statements in relation to any direction or advice to close by a health agency or state regulatory body, eligibility for the JobKeeper Payment, and any increase in the number of children attending that service and/or increase in the number of hours of care.
Early Childhood Education and Care COVID-19 Frequently Asked Questions
Exceptional Circumstance Supplementary Payment – JobKeeper ineligibility – information for providers and services
What do you mean by paid and employed? 
A staff member who was ‘paid’ is any employee who received payment, including
those who were on leave but still received wages from your service. To be
‘employed’, a staff member must still be engaged by your service as an
employee as at 18 May 2020, however, does not need to be currently working.
Early Childhood Education and Care COVID-19 Frequently Asked Questions
Family Day Care and In Home Care
I am an educator and I have questions about how the new Early Childhood Education and Care Relief Package will work for me, who should I speak to?
All educators should talk to their providers in the first instance. Providers
are working hard in collaboration with peak bodies to understand how to
administer the new arrangements. The first payments were processed in the week
commencing 6 April 2020. A final Child Care Subsidy payment was also made in
this week.
Early Childhood Education and Care COVID-19 Frequently Asked Questions
Family Day Care and In Home Care
Can Family Day Care and In Home Care services still access the Community Child Care Fund?
For providers currently receiving a Community Child Care Fund grant there will
be no change to this agreement. The Prime Minister's announcement of the Early
Childhood Education and Care Relief Package relates to the Child Care Subsidy
and Additional Child Care Subsidy under the previous system. Applications for
CCCF Special Circumstances Grant Opportunity previously lodged with the
department for COVID-19 related matters are currently being considered. This
grant opportunity closed on 3 April 2020.
Early Childhood Education and Care COVID-19 Frequently Asked Questions
Child Enrolments, Attendance and Absences
Will my enrolments automatically cease because I am not submitting session reports?
No. Children enrolled on 5 April 2020 will still be enrolled once the Early
Childhood Education and Care Relief Package payment period is over.
Providers should encourage families who have withdrawn from their service to
re-enrol. By families staying enrolled, they will keep their Child Care
Subsidy eligibility so the subsidies will flow again once the Early Childhood
Education and Care Relief Package payments cease.
Early Childhood Education and Care COVID-19 Frequently Asked Questions
Exceptional Circumstance Supplementary Payment – JobKeeper ineligibility – information for providers and services
What do you mean by ‘full-time equivalent employees’? 
The department will use a full-time equivalent (FTE) amount of 38 hours to
calculate both your eligibility for this Exceptional Circumstance
Supplementary Payment and the amount of the payment. If you choose to apply,
you will be asked to provide the number of hours for which your staff were
paid during the reference fortnight. The department will calculate the FTE
hours based on this information and the evidence you provide.
Early Childhood Education and Care COVID-19 Frequently Asked Questions
Family Day Care and In Home Care
Have Family Day Care and In Home Care educators been told to continue working despite isolation and social distancing rules?
Family Day Care and In Home Care educators who have implemented health and
safety measures in accordance with the relevant health advice may not be able
to continue offering care to the same number of children as they did under the
Child Care Package.
In designing the Early Childhood Education and Care Relief Package, the
Government listened to the concerns of peak industry organisations for the
early childhood education and care sector.
The department continues to work with peak bodies to address issues as they
arise.
Early Childhood Education and Care COVID-19 Frequently Asked Questions
Information for families
Do services have to accept new enrolments and increased attendance where parents request it?
Services are required to prioritise care to children of essential workers,
vulnerable and disadvantaged children and children with existing enrolments as
part of the conditions of the Relief Package. Where services choose to accept
new enrolments and increase attendance where parents request it, they are able
to apply for Exceptional Circumstance Supplementary Payments to meet the
demand for child care up to their service’s full capacity taking into account
staff, resources and health and safety issues.
Families and services can report concerns about services not adhering with the
conditions of the Relief Package to the department by phoning 1800 664 231 or
by emailing tipoffline@dese.gov.au. For
example, if a family believes a service has capacity to provide more care but
is electing not to do so, or that a service is not prioritising essential
workers in offering that care, they can and are contacting this line.
Early Childhood Education and Care COVID-19 Frequently Asked Questions
Early Childhood Education and Care Relief Package and the Exceptional Circumstance Supplementary Payment—information for providers and services
Who is eligible for additional funding?
Providers/services can apply for an Exceptional Circumstance Supplementary
Payment in limited circumstances based on the number of children in
attendance. These include but are not limited to the following:


Insufficient reference period or increase in demand


services were not operating during the reference period

the number of attendances during the reference period is significantly and demonstratively lower than the current number of attendances at the service from 6 April 2020 onwards

a service experiences a significantly higher demand for child care for children of essential workers and/or vulnerable and disadvantaged children during the period 6 April 2020 to 28 June 2020.


JobKeeper ineligibility


providers that are not eligible for the JobKeeper Payment, including non-government schools, large charities/not for profit organisations, but excluding state and local government services

Family Day Care (FDC) and In Home Care (IHC) educators that were providing care in the reference period that are not eligible for JobKeeper, but who have registered for an Australian Business Number (ABN) by 1 June 2020.
services, excluding state and local government services, that have 30 per cent or more full-time equivalent current employees* who are not eligible for JobKeeper Payment and where the provider or service has not applied for or received another Exceptional Circumstance Supplementary Payment for these employees.

*current employees means those employed by the provider during the reference period and from 18 May 2020 onwards.
In recognition of the higher costs associated with IHC sessions of care,
providers will be eligible for an Exceptional Circumstance Supplementary
Payment of 20 per cent of the weekly payment calculated on the reference
fortnight base rate. This payment will be made from 18 May 2020. IHC providers
do not need to apply for this payment as it will be made automatically.
Early Childhood Education and Care COVID-19 Frequently Asked Questions
Compliance measures
What compliance measures will be in place for the Early Childhood Education and Care Relief Package payments?
The department will continue regular compliance monitoring including provider
debt recovery actions.
Families and services can report concerns about services adhering with the
conditions of the payments to the department by phoning: 1800 664 231 or
emailing: tipoffline@dese.gov.au.
Providers found not to be following the requirements of Family Assistance Law,
including the Early Childhood Education and Care Relief Package, may have
payments cancelled and/or have a debt notice issued.
Early Childhood Education and Care COVID-19 Frequently Asked Questions
Child Enrolments, Attendance and Absences
What is the child care absence policy in response to COVID-19?
Whether a child is ill or not, including where a child does not attend care as
part of the family’s own precautionary measure against potential contact with
COVID-19, Child Care Subsidy (CCS) can be paid for up to 62 absence days per
child, for the 2019–20 financial year, without the need for families to
provide documentation.
Once a child’s 62 initial absences have been used, if more absences are
required for COVID-19 related reasons, CCS can be paid for additional absences
claimed without the need for medical evidence.
Absences will not be counted during the Early Childhood Education and Care
Relief Package period (commencing 6 April 2020) as session reports will not be
submitted.
Early Childhood Education and Care COVID-19 Frequently Asked Questions
Early Childhood Education and Care Relief Package–information for providers and services
What is the new child care payment under the Early Childhood Education and Care Relief Package?
The new payment under the Early Childhood Education and Care Relief Package is
a payment to support child care services (including Centre Based Day Care,
Family Day Care, Outside School Hours Care and In Home Care) to remain open.
Due to the impact of COVID-19, the early childhood education and care sector
has reported significant decreases in attendance. These payments will ensure
services can remain open, and families who need it can access care.
Weekly payments will be approximately 50 per cent of services' fee revenue or
50 per cent of the existing hourly rate cap, whichever is lower, for sessions
of care in the fortnight preceding 2 March 2020 (i.e. Monday 17 February 2020
through to 28 February 2020).
The payments for services providing vacation care only will be calculated on
the equivalent of the average weekly amount for the vacation period between
Term 3 and Term 4 in 2019 (September-October school holidays).
The payments are made in lieu of any Child Care Subsidy and Additional Child
Care Subsidy.
Receiving these payments does not preclude your service from accessing other
Government initiatives to support businesses.
Early Childhood Education and Care COVID-19 Frequently Asked Questions
COVID-19 health advice for providers and services
Who will inform our early childhood education and care service if it is required to close?
Closures are a decision that will be made, and advised, by state and territory
governments. Usually this is their health department, but it may come from the
state regulatory authority.
Services directed to shut down because of COVID-19 should follow standard
processes for activating a period of local
emergency.
If you close your early childhood education and care service, either
voluntarily or as directed by a state or territory regulatory or health
authority on public health advice or for other valid health and safety
reasons, you must notify your state regulatory authority within 24 hours.
Early Childhood Education and Care COVID-19 Frequently Asked Questions
Early Childhood Education and Care Relief Package and the Exceptional Circumstance Supplementary Payment—information for providers and services
When applying for Exceptional Circumstance Supplementary Payment, what is satisfactory evidence to support my claim for increased demand? 
Evidence must:

be provided for a fortnight of data and it must be after the reference period, and
be for care already provided–future bookings are not acceptable evidence; and
include detail of number of children cared for and hours charged in that fortnight and clearly supports the number of hours you have provided in your application. (While casual absences may be included e.g. a child is ill on Wednesday but attends all other sessions that week, long term absences related to children enrolled but not currently attending your service should not be included in the calculations used to complete your application, or in the evidence provided.)

You should be able to generate this data using your existing software. Below
are two examples of how it may be presented. Reports from your software may
look different and the reports below are examples only. Please remove or black
out any personal information, including names, prior to submitting.
Example 1
My Centre Name
Provider CRN: 123456789T Service CRN: 987654321X
Attendances from 13/04/2020 – 26/04/2020
Example 2
My Centre Name
Provider CRN: 123456789T Service CRN: 987654321X
Attendances from 13/04/2020 – 26/04/2020
Early Childhood Education and Care COVID-19 Frequently Asked Questions
Exceptional Circumstance Supplementary Payment – JobKeeper ineligibility – information for providers and services
Some of my staff are ineligible for JobKeeper. Can I get additional support to assist me in paying my staff wages? 
Services that have a high number of staff ineligible for JobKeeper payments
may be eligible for an Exceptional Circumstance Supplementary Payment under
the Early Childhood Education and Care Relief Package. This payment is
designed to assist services to provide care to children of essential workers
and vulnerable and disadvantaged children, as well as meet increased demand
for care.
Early Childhood Education and Care COVID-19 Frequently Asked Questions
Child Enrolments, Attendance and Absences
How should services treat new enrolments at their centre? 
Providers should continue to enter into a Complying Written Arrangement with
parents who are eligible for the Child Care Subsidy and record the child’s
start date (the day that the parent confirms their agreement to the
arrangement) in their third party software or the Provider Entry Point (PEP).
An enrolment notice should be submitted in the provider’s third party software
or the PEP within seven days of entering into a Complying Written Arrangement
with the family.
Early Childhood Education and Care COVID-19 Frequently Asked Questions
COVID-19 health advice for providers and services
Is it safe for my service to stay open?
Continuing essential services such as child care–while it is safe to do so–is
crucial to enabling parents, including health care professionals, to continue
to work and support the broader community during these uncertain times. It
also reduces the reliance on alternative care arrangements such as
grandparents or elderly relatives who are typically at higher risk of
COVID-19.
Early childhood education and care services should follow the advice from
their state or territory governments on matters related to COVID-19. Their
advice and directions are informed by the expert medical advice of Australia’s
Chief Medical Officer and the Australian Health Protection Principal Committee
(AHPPC).
The current clear advice of health officials is that services should continue
to remain open unless otherwise directed, with risk mitigation measures as
outlined in the AHPPC statement below.
Read the statement from the AHPPC about COVID-19 in children and early childhood education and
care.
Early Childhood Education and Care COVID-19 Frequently Asked Questions
COVID-19 health advice for providers and services
What about physical distancing? 
The Australian Health Protection Principal Committee (AHPPC) have reviewed the
physical distancing requirements for early childhood education and care
services and determined that the ‘venue density rule’ of no more than one
person per four square metres is not appropriate or practical in early
childhood education and care services, nor is maintaining 1.5m between
children. Read the statement from the
AHPPC.
Safe Work Australia (SWA) have also updated their advice for services,
explaining that children are not to be included in any calculations of four
square metres per person, however employers are reminded these principles
should be adhered to for adults in services, including visitors. Read the
statement from SWA.