mteb/FeedbackQARetrieval huggingface dataset:
Early Childhood Education and Care COVID-19 Frequently Asked Questions
Child Enrolments, Attendance and Absences
What is the out of pocket fee waiver?
Ordinarily, when Child Care Subsidy operates, providers are required to
recover the out of pocket fees from families, even if the child is absent from
care. Due to the impact of COVID-19, the sector has reported significant
decreases in attendance. To support families and the sector, for the period 23
March to 5 April 2020, providers were able to waive out of pocket fees for
families where a service remained open, but children were absent.
Early Childhood Education and Care COVID-19 Frequently Asked Questions
Information for families
Where can I find COVID-19 information on preschool and kindergarten?
Preschool is primarily a state and territory responsibility and preschool
systems vary across jurisdictions. Because of this, preschool-related
information in the context of COVID-19 is provided at a state and territory
level. More information for families and parents of preschool and kindergarten
children is available at Universal Access to Early Childhood
Education.
Early Childhood Education and Care COVID-19 Frequently Asked Questions
Information for families
What are the Early Childhood Education and Care Relief Package payments?
The payments under the Early Childhood Education and Care Relief Package
support child care services (including Centre Based Day Care, Family Day Care,
Outside School Hours Care and In Home Care). Due to the impact of COVID-19,
the early childhood education and care sector has reported significant
decreases in attendance and enrolments. These payments will ensure services
can remain open, and families who need it can access care.
The payments are made in lieu of any Child Care Subsidy and Additional Child
Care Subsidy.
Early Childhood Education and Care COVID-19 Frequently Asked Questions
Information for families
What should I expect when commencing a new enrolment?
The process for families to enrol their child in a child care service has not
changed with the introduction of the Early Childhood Education and Care Relief
Package payments.
Your child care provider will help you to enrol your child under the care
arrangement that best suits your circumstances. For the majority of families
there are three types of care arrangements available:

Complying Written Arrangement–for families who intend to receive Child Care Subsidy or Additional Child Care Subsidy once the Relief Package payments cease. 
Relevant Arrangement–for families who would otherwise not be eligible for Child Care Subsidy or Additional Child Care Subsidy.
Organisation Arrangement–if a third party pays your child care fees.

To help your provider enrol your child, it is particularly important you
provide the correct Customer Reference Number (CRN) and date of birth for both
yourself and your child.
For any kind of arrangement, your child care provider will submit an enrolment
notice, and you will receive a notice from Services Australia requesting you
review and check the enrolment details.
This can be done in your Centrelink Online account through
myGov or the Centrelink Express Plus mobile app.
Early Childhood Education and Care COVID-19 Frequently Asked Questions
Early Childhood Education and Care Relief Package–information for providers and services
What do I have to do to receive the Early Childhood Education and Care Relief Package payment?
In order to receive the payment you must:

remain open and provide sessions of care to at least one child, unless closed on public health advice or advice by a State Regulatory Authority for COVID-19 health and safety reasons
ensure families are not charged a fee, including an out of pocket or gap fee for sessions of care provided
continue and prioritise care to essential workers, vulnerable and disadvantaged children and previously enrolled children
continue to record attendance of children
where children enrol at a service who otherwise would be considered ‘at risk’ for the purposes of Additional Child Care Subsidy (ACCS) (child wellbeing), services are required to make a referral to an appropriate support agency as per the existing ACCS (child wellbeing) referral requirements
comply with all other provider obligations including the National Quality Framework and other relevant conditions of approval under Family Assistance Law.

You do not need to apply. Payments will be made automatically on a weekly
basis unless otherwise notified by the department.
Early Childhood Education and Care COVID-19 Frequently Asked Questions
Child Enrolments, Attendance and Absences
Am I still expected to record/store the attendance information of children at my service (for example 'in and out times')?
Yes, you must still record the attendance information, such as in and out
times, for children that attend your service. This can either be stored
electronically, or by other means. You must also give families statements of
sessions of care provided.
Early Childhood Education and Care COVID-19 Frequently Asked Questions
Exceptional Circumstance Supplementary Payment – JobKeeper ineligibility – information for providers and services
What evidence do I need to provide? 
You will need to provide a copy of your Payroll for the reference fortnight,
the two weeks from the 17 February to 1 March 2020. This will need to show the
names of all the staff who were paid, their hours worked, their Payroll ID,
and Tax File Number. All other information including actual wages, should be
redacted.
You will need to confirm which employees who were paid during the reference
fortnight, are still employed and are eligible for JobKeeper for your service.
The department may verify the information you provide with data from the
Australian Taxation Office and Services Australia.
Providing false information may result in the imposition of sanctions,
including cancellation of service's approval, as well as civil penalties and
criminal prosecution.
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 providers apply for an Exceptional Circumstance Supplementary Payment for their educators who are not eligible for the JobKeeper Payment because they didn’t have an ABN? 
Providers of Family Day Care (FDC) and In Home Care (IHC) services, who are
not run by state or local government, may apply for Exceptional Circumstance
Supplementary Payments on behalf of contracted sole trader educators.
To be eligible for an Exceptional Circumstance Supplementary Payment, the
following conditions must be met:

educators must be currently contracted to the service and have provided care during the reference period
educators must not have had an ABN on 12 March 2020 (those educators with an ABN should apply individually for JobKeeper payments)
these educators must have applied for an ABN by 1 June 2020; and
only one provider can apply on behalf of each educator (even if they work for more than one service).

In an application on behalf of contracted sole trader educators, providers
will be required to supply either:

the educator’s ABN, or 
the date of the educator’s application for an ABN and the Australian Taxation Office receipt number.

Applications without this information cannot be considered.
Providers of FDC and IHC services receiving this Exceptional Circumstance
Supplementary Payment must pass on the payment in full to their eligible
educators.
Information collected for the purposes of calculating the amount of
Exceptional Circumstance Supplementary Payment will be shared with the
Australian Taxation Office and Services Australia for verification checking.
Early Childhood Education and Care COVID-19 Frequently Asked Questions
Inclusion Support Program
My service receives funding from the Inclusion Support Program to support the inclusion of children with additional needs. Can Inclusion Development Fund payments still be claimed through the Inclusion Support Portal? 
For care provided from 6 April 2020 services should claim all Inclusion
Development Fund (IDF) claims hours as ‘non face-to-face’ hours, including the
actual attendance of the case child and approved non face-to-face hours.
The department has changed the Inclusion Support Portal to notionally increase
the ‘Additional non face-to-face hours’ for each case to allow services to
claim IDF payments without the attendance records in the Child Care Subsidy
System.
Note that this is a system change to facilitate payments only. There is no
change to the actual allowable non face-to-face hours in each case. Services
are only eligible for IDF for the hours of actual attendance and the approved
number of non face-to-face hours as set out in their funding letter, per
Section 11.1.1 of the Inclusion Support Program Guidelines.
If services receive an error when claiming they should contact the IDF Manager
at idfm@ku.com.au.
Services will still need to record attendance and these will be checked by the
department to verify IDF claims.
Services can continue to submit new applications for Inclusion Support Program
funding under the updated ISP Guidelines that were published on 30 March 2020.
This IDF payment mechanism is expected to be in place for the duration of the
Early Childhood Education and Care Relief Package arrangements.
For more information on ISP visit education.gov.au/inclusion-support-program-
isp.
*[ISP]: Indigenous Support Program
Early Childhood Education and Care COVID-19 Frequently Asked Questions
Family Day Care and In Home Care
Can we receive more than the 50 per cent Early Childhood Education and Care Relief Package? 
Family Day Care (FDC) and In Home Care (IHC) services are already coping with
a surge in enrolments as essential workers have sought flexible child care
options for their preschool-aged children and their primary school-aged
children who are no longer going to school.
Additionally, 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.
Where a service is providing additional care compared to the reference period
they can apply to receive the Exceptional Circumstance Supplementary Payment.
The form is available at
dese.gov.au/covid-19/childhood.
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.
Providers who receive this Exceptional Circumstance Supplementary Payment must
tell the department if their income goes up for any reason. This includes if
you have access to additional state or local government assistance. Please
provide details regarding this additional support to
ECECreliefpayment@dese.gov.au and put
the relevant application ID number in the email subject header.
If a FDC/IHC service has already made an application through the exceptional
circumstance process, the department will be in contact with them shortly to
request further information about those educators (sole trader contractors)
who are not eligible for the JobKeeper Payment. Confirmation and evidence will
be sought that all relevant educators have applied for an ABN before any
additional payment can be assessed.
Early Childhood Education and Care COVID-19 Frequently Asked Questions
Child Enrolments, Attendance and Absences
Can families who do not meet the Child Care Subsidy residency requirements enrol their children to attend a service receiving payments under the Relief Package?
Yes. Families who do not meet the Child Care Subsidy residency requirements
can be enrolled under a Relevant Arrangement or Organisation Arrangement
enrolment while payments under the Relief Package are being made, noting
however priority for child care places is to be given to essential workers,
vulnerable and disadvantaged children and previously enrolled children.
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
Will Exceptional Circumstance Supplementary Payments be backdated? 
Exceptional Circumstance Supplementary Payments based on demand will be
backdated to the beginning of a relevant four-week period. The first four-week
period commenced on 6 April 2020.
The four-week periods are:

Period 1 – 6 April 2020 to 3 May 2020
Period 2 – 4 May 2020 to 31 May 2020
Period 3 – 1 June 2020 to 28 June 2020.

For example:
A provider applying on 20 April 2020, that seeks the Exceptional Circumstance
Supplementary Payment to be backdated will receive the higher rate from 6
April 2020.
OR
A service which applies on 22 May 2020, may have their Exceptional
Circumstance Supplementary Payment backdated to the second four-week period
which commences on 4 May 2020.
Note: where applicable, adjustments will be made for those providers who have
already received an Exceptional Circumstance Supplementary Payment for
increased attendance in the first four-week period and are now eligible for
monies for week 1 of the period.
Exceptional Circumstance Supplementary Payments will be backdated until the
commencement of the Relief Package on 6 April 2020:

to support providers that are operated by non-government schools and large charities/not-for-profit organisations that are not eligible for JobKeeper Payment

OR

to providers of Family Day Care and In Home Care services, on behalf of their (sole trader contractor) educators who are not eligible for the JobKeeper Payment

Exceptional Circumstance Supplementary Payments made to services who have more
than 30 per cent of full-time equivalent employees who are ineligible for
JobKeeper will be backdated to 18 May 2020.
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
Can services operated by state, territory or local governments whose educators are not eligible for the JobKeeper Payment, receive increased payments?
No, these services are not eligible to apply for an Exceptional Circumstance
Supplementary Payment on the basis of JobKeeper ineligibility. However, they
are able to apply for an Exceptional Circumstance Supplementary Payment where
there is an increase in demand, where evidenced by an increase in the number
of children attending or hours of care provided, when compared to the
reference period.
Early Childhood Education and Care COVID-19 Frequently Asked Questions
Exceptional Circumstance Supplementary Payment – JobKeeper ineligibility – information for providers and services
How do I know if I am eligible for an Exceptional Circumstance Supplementary Payment? 
Services may be eligible to receive this Exceptional Circumstance
Supplementary Payment under the Early Childhood Education and Care Relief
Package if 30 per cent or more of their employees are ineligible for
JobKeeper. Employees that are ineligible for JobKeeper are often casual
employees who work short shifts. For this reason, the department will use a
full-time equivalent amount of 38 hours to calculate both the 30 per cent and
the amount of the payment.
These employees must have been paid during the reference period (17 February
to 1 March 2020) and still be employed by the service.
In addition to these criteria, services must:

Currently be open and providing sessions of care to at least one child
Not be part of a state or local government; and
Not be eligible or receiving any other Exceptional Circumstance Supplementary Payment on the basis of JobKeeper ineligibility.

Service types that may be eligible for other Exceptional Circumstance
Supplementary Payments on the basis of JobKeeper ineligibility include: Family
Day Care and In Home Care services with a sole trader model, and services that
are part of a non-government school, tertiary institution, and charity or not
for profit organisation that is ineligible for JobKeeper.
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 does an Exceptional Circumstance Supplementary Payment affect my JobKeeper application?
For a provider this payment and the base payment under the Relief Package are
not considered as revenue for GST purposes. This means providers will be able
to show they satisfy the decline in income test for the purposes of the
JobKeeper Payment provided they do not have income from other sources, such as
being part of a larger entity like a non-government school or a not-for-profit
organisation.
Where some of this revenue is then passed on to Family Day Care and In Home
Care educators (based on contractual arrangements between the service and the
educator) these monies are considered as revenue for GST purposes. As the
educator is unlikely to receive more than 50 per cent of their fee revenue
from the provider, they should be able to satisfy the decline in income test
for the JobKeeper Payment.
Early Childhood Education and Care COVID-19 Frequently Asked Questions
Early Childhood Education and Care Relief Package–information for providers and services
What do I need to do if my service has to temporarily close or has reopened? 
If your service is required to temporarily close for any reason you must
report the closure and re-opening. Failure to report a re-opening may impact
your Early Childhood Education and Care Relief Package payments. You must
report your service closure and re-opening in a timely manner, clearly stating
the reason for the closure to the following authorities within 24 hours:

your state or territory regulatory authority; and
the Department of Education, Skills and Employment in your state or territory (contact details below).

Contact details for state and territory offices

New South Wales & Australian Capital Territory CCSAssessments-NSWACT@dese.gov.au
Victoria CCSAssessments-VIC@dese.gov.au
Queensland CCSAssessments-QLD@dese.gov.au
Western Australia CCSAssessments-WA@dese.gov.au
South Australia ChildcareSA@dese.gov.au
Tasmania ChildcareTasmania@dese.gov.au
Northern Territory ChildcareNT@dese.gov.au
Early Childhood Education and Care COVID-19 Frequently Asked Questions
Child Enrolments, Attendance and Absences
What if my service’s levels of attendance have not decreased?
The Australian Government is committed to ensuring that families, especially
emergency and essential workers, can work during the COVID-19 pandemic, and
that disadvantaged and vulnerable children are safe and receiving care.
The Early Childhood Education and Care Relief Package has been developed to
assist such families and to respond to concerns from the vast majority of the
child care sector that falling child care attendance was threatening the
viability of the sector.
Those child care providers who do not experience any significant reduction in
enrolments and attendance are able to apply for an Exceptional Circumstance
Supplementary Payment under the Early Childhood Education and Care Relief
Package.
Early Childhood Education and Care COVID-19 Frequently Asked Questions
Information for families
Can my service change their service offering in relation to meals, nappies or late fees?
The intent of the weekly payments is to enable access to free child care for
families of the priority groups like essential workers, during the COVID-19
crisis.
While services receive payments under the Relief Package, they should not be
changing their service offer and/or increasing or adding new administrative
fees.
The usual service offering generally includes consumable items such as meals,
wipes, or art supplies as part of the cost of providing a session of care. For
example, if nappies were included as part of the session fee your service
usually provided, nappies should continue to be provided without any extra
cost to families.
Some services also charge administrative fees. These fees do not form part of
the session of care fee that a family’s Child Care Subsidy was calculated on,
meaning that services can continue to charge administrative fees, for example,
late pick-up fees. However, services are not to increase these fees for the
duration of the Relief Package or add new ones that were not listed in a
family’s Complying Written Agreement.
The department can take compliance action against services not meeting the
conditions of the payments. Information about such practices can be directed
to the department’s tip off line 1800 664 231 or emailing
tipoffline@dese.gov.au.
Frequently Asked Questions
Bridging visa holders
If your visa has expired, or is about to expire you should consider returning
to your home country as quickly as possible if you are able to, particularly
if you do not have family support.
Temporary visa holders who are unable to support themselves over the next six
months are strongly encouraged to return home and to make arrangements as
quickly as possible to do so.
If you cannot depart Australia, you need to apply for a Bridging visa in order
to regularise your visa status. You will be expected to depart Australia when
travel restrictions are lifted.
Frequently Asked Questions
COVID-19 Pandemic - Australian Government Endorsed Event (AGEE) stream of the Temporary Activity (subclass 408) visa
Frequently Asked Questions
Can I apply for the COVID-19 Pandemic event visa if I have a no further stay condition attached to my visa?
If you hold a subclass 403 visa in the Seasonal Worker Programme stream,
during the COVID-19 period, the condition 8503 (No Further Stay) attached to
your visa will be automatically waived to allow you to apply for the COVID-19
AGEE stream of the subclass 408. You will not need to apply for a waiver of
condition 8503.
If you hold any other temporary visa with condition 8503, 8534 or 8535 and
cannot depart Australia as planned, you cannot apply for most other visas in
Australia unless the condition is waived. You can request to waive this
condition if
your visa will expire in less than 28 days. If your request is approved, you
should make a new visa application before your current visa expires.
Frequently Asked Questions
Temporary visa measures supporting the agriculture sector
Working Holiday Maker visa holders
I had to leave Australia and I couldn’t complete my specified work due to COVID-19. My visa is likely to cease before I can come back to Australia, can the validity be extended?
It is not possible to extend your WHM visa. If you wish to return to Australia
in the future, you will need to apply and meet the requirements for an
appropriate visa. Depending on your circumstances, you may not meet the
requirements for another WHM visa.