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In response to the Australian Government’s call for submissions regarding priorities for the 2022-2023 Federal Budget, Family Day Care Australia (FDCA) lodged a submission to Treasury on behalf of our members on Friday 28 January 2022.
The pre-budget submission outlines the case for four key funding priorities that are not only pivotal in ensuring the long-term viability of the family day care sector, but also represent an appropriate and equitable allocation of funding for the sector to support sustainable growth.
What have we called on the Government to do?
In our 2022-2023 pre-budget submission, we have called on the Australian Government to:
What challenges do we want to address?
In our submission we drew attention to the underlying factors contributing to four significant challenges affecting the future viability of the family day care sector, namely:
The recommended investment measures seek to address these challenges. You can read FDCA’s pre-budget submission here.
We thank you, our members, for your input and for sharing your views on the key priorities for the 2022-23 Federal Budget. Your feedback was invaluable in developing the content of our submission and will assist us in ongoing discussions with relevant Ministers, Shadow Ministers, Senators and MPs over the coming months.
Should you have any questions about the pre-budget submission please contact us at enquiries@fdca.com.au.
The Australian Government has announced additional support measures for the early childhood education and care sector in response to the evolving COVID-19 situation.
Gap fee waiving
There are now more reasons services can waive gap fees. Until 30 June 2022, services can waive the gap fee and receive Child Care Subsidy (CCS) if a child is unable to attend care for one of four reasons:
Unlimited allowable absences
The Australian Government is providing unlimited allowable absences throughout January and February 2022, in response to the Omicron wave. Families won’t have to use their 52 allowable absences for the 2021–22 financial year during this period. These absences will be automatically applied in the Child Care Subsidy System.
Services may be back paid if a child had already exceeded their 52 absences in January. Services must pass on the benefit to the family. Unlimited absences do not apply in Western Australia.
Absences at the start or end of an enrolment
CCS is not usually paid for any absences before a child’s first, or after their last, physical attendance.
There are exceptions to this rule to support families who start or end an enrolment during the peak of the Omicron wave. The following exceptions apply for services in all states and territories except Western Australia:
The following exceptions apply for services in Western Australia:
Support for service closures
Approved services can apply for a Community Child Care Fund (CCCF) Special Circumstances grant if they’ve had to close, or partially close, due to COVID-19, including in the absence of stay-at-home orders.
Find out how to apply for a CCCF Special Circumstances grant. The guidelines and application form will be updated soon.
Registrations are open for FDCA’s 2022 National Engagement Program forums and with seating limited, we don’t want you to miss out!
Helping you to access premium professional development and learning, while providing opportunities to network with fellow family day care professionals and discuss the issues that matter to you, is an important part of the work that we do as your national peak body.
Through the National Engagement Program, we’re proud to continue our investment into this important initiative.
Tickets are available now and have been heavily subsidised, with FDCA members on average receiving over $125 worth of value for just $15!
In 2022, FDCA members will also be able to take advantage of joint educator and service sessions, giving teams the chance to come together and share in the benefits of joint professional development workshops unique to the family day care environment.
Tailored professional development for family day care
Joining representatives from FDCA will be Red Nose Australia and Australian Child Care Career Options (ACCCO), who will both be providing premium professional development opportunities.
Red Nose Australia will deliver a “Safe sleeping for family day care” workshop, with ACCCO facilitating a presentation on “Child Protection: a family day care focused approach”.
Both workshops will have an emphasis on the role of services and educators, providing valuable insights for all participants and a holistic approach to child safety. This ticks an important box in terms of assisting services and educators to meet both their professional development obligations under Element 7.2.3 of the NQS, and their child safety and child protection obligations under Standard 2.2 and Element 2.2.3.
Full summaries of forum workshops are available to download from the FDCA website by visiting each forum’s webpage.
Attendees will receive a certificate for each workshop in acknowledgement of the learning experience.
Refreshments across the day and an official Networking Lunch will also be included, alongside an exclusive presentation from FDCA on our 2021-2022 Member Initiatives.
Secure your ticket
Capacity across each event is strictly limited, so make you secure your registration by clicking here.
Under the National Allergy Strategy new Best practice guidelines for anaphylaxis prevention and management in children’s education and care services have been developed. The guidelines are comprehensive and practical, featuring key principles for reducing the risk of anaphylaxis and recommendations on:
An Allergy Aware resource hub has also been developed, which includes key principles for reducing the risk of anaphylaxis and developing risk minimisation strategies. There are also helpful templates and checklists for children’s education and care services to use to prevent and manage anaphylaxis.
Marketing your business to prospective educators and families is an important way to make sure your family day care stands out from the crowd.
Getting it right can be crucial in determining your success.
That’s why FDCA has developed the Market My Business Hub.
With over 30 years of experience in promoting the sector, the Market My Business Hub will take the hassle out of marketing your family day care – giving you more time to get on with the job of providing quality education and care.
The Market My Business Hub is exclusively available and FREE to FDCA members and has been created to support our members in promoting and positioning their family day care business with a consistent and contemporary look and feel.
Our suite of resources available through the Market My Business Hub, including our BRAND NEW SERIES of educator testimonial and promotional videos, have been developed using extensive market research and stakeholder consultation, and best of all, are fully customisable to your business.
When you use the Market My Business Hub, you can be confident that your message resonates with what matters to your audience.
Through the Market My Business Hub, you’ll find:
New content for 2022
To provide you with even more opportunities to promote your service, we’ve made a few new additions to the Market My Business Hub, including posters, postcards and a full suite of videos that showcase family day care like never before!
To check out our amazing testimonial videos and hear real educators talk about the benefits of family day care and a career in the sector, click here.
To access the latest material available on the Market My Business Hub, click here.
If you haven’t accessed the Market My Business Hub before, we’ve created a short video to show you how it works and listed some instructions below to help.
How does it work?
You can access and order material from the Market My Business Hub by following these four simple steps:
All that’s left to do now is wait for your customised digital materials to arrive in your inbox and rest easy, knowing that FDCA guarantees a maximum 10-day turnaround on all orders.
While you’re waiting... why not plan how you will use your new marketing materials?
Please note that brochures, flyers, postcards and posters are provided in soft copy only (PDF format).
Activating my FDCA Member Zone
To activate your online account:
We hope you enjoy exploring your Market My Business Hub and we look forward to helping you continue to grow your family day care business!
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