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As part of FDCA’s Rethinking Family Day Care series, we are sharing innovative models identified through the Australian Government-funded FDC Capability Trial.
For many small rural and remote communities, traditional centre-based care models are simply not sustainable. Family day care provides a flexible alternative that can be adapted to local circumstances, helping communities maintain access to education and care while supporting local employment and workforce participation.
This week’s story showcases how Willi Wag Tails Family Day Care has worked with local shires to establish family day care in approved community venues across rural and regional Western Australia.
Click here to read the full story and explore how family day care could help address child care gaps in your community.
As part of the ”innovative models” workstream of the Australian Government-funded FDC Capability Trial, FDCA is inviting family day care services to complete a short survey exploring venue-based family day care.
Whether your service has experience with venue-based family day care, has explored it in the past or has no direct experience with the model, your perspective is valuable.
The information collected will help inform potential resource development, broader guidance and FDCA’s advocacy relating to venue-based family day care.
Survey responses will help FDCA better understand:
If your service has not yet participated, click here to complete the survey.
The Australia Government Department of Educator continues to identify Child Care Subsidy (CCS) session reports that overlap with children’s formal school hours.
Under Family Assistance Law, a CCS-eligible session of care times must not overlap with a time a child is attending formal schooling hours. This applies to all service types, including where a family day care educator drops a child off at school or collects them after school.
For example, if a school operates from 8:25am to 3:25pm:
Even a short overlap can make the entire session ineligible for CCS.
Why accurate reporting matters
The Department recently shared an example in their newsletter of a service that repeatedly reported before-school sessions ending five minutes after school had started. Although the service was advised to correct its reporting, the overlaps continued across multiple children and days.
Following an investigation, the service received an infringement notice of $18,200 and a debt was raised for CCS that should not have been paid.
What services and educators should do
Approved providers and services are responsible for ensuring CCS session reports are complete and accurate. Educators support accurate reporting by providing their service with current school and attendance information.
Services and educators should work together to:
Services should regularly review reported session times to identify and correct repeated overlaps.
For further guidance, visit the Department of Education’s How to manage session reports webpage.
A reminder anyone who was working or volunteering in a family day care service before 14 August 2026 must complete the mandatory national foundation child safety training by 27 August 2026.
This includes family day care educators, coordinators, staff members, regular volunteers and students undertaking an approved early childhood qualification.
If you have not already completed the training, your should:
People who started working or volunteering on or after 14 August 2026 must complete the foundation training before working directly with children or within 14 days of starting—whichever occurs first.
Approved providers are responsible for ensuring everyone who is required to undertake the training has completed it. Providers should:
Advanced Courses 3 and 4 are also available through Geccko. Course 5, for people with leadership and governance responsibilities, is expected to be released from 30 September 2026.
The advanced courses a person must complete depend on their role. The release of advanced training does not replace the requirement to complete the foundation courses.
Register or log in to Geccko to complete the training. Further information about course and role requirements is available on the Australian Government Department of Education website.
National Science Week is Australia’s annual celebration of science and technology, running from 15-23 August, 2026. National Science Week aims to draw attention, interest and engagement towards the sciences and provides an opportunity for all Australians to participate in science events across the country.
Established in 1997, National Science Week provides an opportunity to acknowledge the contributions of Australian scientists to the world of knowledge. It also aims to encourage an interest in science pursuits among the general public, and to encourage younger people to be fascinated by the world we live in.
If you would like to get involved, you can find further information and resources via the National Science Week website.
The ACECQA Newsletter provides important updates, news, and information relevant to the early childhood education and care sector.
It is a useful way for educators, coordinators, service staff and approved providers to stay informed about the National Quality Framework, regulatory developments, professional practice, and other sector news.
Members can read the latest edition online or subscribe to receive future editions directly from ACECQA.
For the latest newsletter and subscription details, visit the ACECQA website.
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