29 June 2022

Access our NEW online Learning Hub

Family Day Care Australia (FDCA) has partnered with one of Australia’s most respected early childhood professional development and advocacy organisations, Early Childhood Australia (ECA), to provide our members with an outstanding new way to meet their professional development needs.

Through FDCA’s Member Zone, you’ll have access to more than 25 online courses as part of your existing membership - valued at over $100 each year in professional development and training!

‍Log into your Member Zone and watch our tutorial video here to get started on your Learning Hub journey!If you haven’t yet accessed your Member Zone, click here to activate your account.

NAIDOC Week 2022

NAIDOC Week will be held this Sunday 3 July until Sunday 10 July 2022, with festivities taking place across Australia to celebrate and recognise the history, culture and achievements of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples.

Valuing Australia's Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander cultures is an underpinning principle of the National Quality Framework. The 2022 theme for NAIDOC week encourages us to ‘Get Up! Stand Up! Show Up!’ for change.

As early childhood professionals, NAIDOC week provides an opportunity to reflect on how you could build stronger relationships and new partnerships with your local Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait Islander communities, through activities, events and shared learning spaces.

Access the NAIDOC website for a range of educational resources to support learning, along with information about the history of NAIDOC Week and local events.

Child Care Subsidy rates increasing from 11 July.

Child Care Subsidy (CCS) rates are increasing from 11 July 2022.

CCS rates are adjusted each July based on the Consumer Price Index (CPI) for the previous December, resulting in an increase of the CCS family income thresholds and hourly rate caps.

The new rates take effect from 11 July, which is the start of the first CCS fortnight in the new financial year.

The new hourly rate cap for family day care is $11.80 for below school age and school age children.

The full CCS rate changes are available to view here on the Department of Education, Skills and Employment's website.

FDCA notes that the hourly CCS fee cap rate for family day care remains inequitable for our sector. We maintain our long-standing position for an equitable recalculation of the CCS fee cap for family day care to be on par with that of centre-based care, alongside our call for a 20% loading for non-standard hours family day care.

FDCA has presented the matter to our new Minister, Dr Anne Aly MP, and will inform members of progress.

COVID-19 support measures extended

The Australian Government recently announced the extension of support measures for the Early Childhood Education and Care (ECEC) sector, originally implemented in response to the COVID-19 pandemic.

These include:

• providing each child with 52 days of allowable absences, without missing out on the Child Care Subsidy (CCS);
• using government notice of a positive COVID-19 test as a form of evidence for families to access additional, paid absences; and
• allowing services to receive CCS and waive gap fees when closed, or partially closed, due to: staff falling ill from COVID-19, if a child is absent because they or an immediate household family member has COVID-19, or for children not attending care because they are at higher risk of severe disease from COVID-19.

Due to expire on 30 June 2022, the above support measures have now been extended to 30 June 2023.

We understand that the extension of gap fee waivers does not necessarily work well for all parties in the family day care sector, and therefore encourage services and educators to consider individual circumstances when making decisions on gap fee waiving.

Should you have any questions regarding this announcement, please contact us at enquiries@fdca.com.au 

Purchase your National Conference ticket before EOFY

Purchasing your ticket before June 30 will ensure that you’re able to claim your FDCA 2022 National Conference ticket in your 2021-2022 business expenses.

In an article written for FDCA, Ben Mueller from FDCA Tax, provides his top tax tips for the end of financial year for FDCA members. Check out Ben’s article and grab your ticket through our website!

A special message from Maggie Dent

In what promises to be one of the highlights of the FDCA 2022 National Conference, delegates will have the opportunity to hear from Australia’s ‘Queen of Common Sense’, Maggie Dent.

Maggie, who will be delivering both a Keynote Address and two workshops across the conference, has passed on a special message for the conference which you can watch on the FDCA Facebook page or on our website.

10 National Principles for Child Safety

‍As part of the Child Safe Organisations project, following on from the Royal Commission into Institutional Responses to Child Sexual Abuse, the Australian Government commissioned the development of National Principles for Child Safe Organisations.

The 10 National Principles aim to provide a nationally consistent approach to creating and sustaining child safety and wellbeing within a range of settings, including the early childhood education and care sector.

‍Practical tools and training resources are available on the Child Safe Organisations project website to help providers and educators implement the National Principles, and educate parents and families on child safety.

There’s still time to get your FREE printed copy of the FDCA E-Book!

We love seeing our members receive their very own hard copies of “My Family” Day Care, created to support families and children transitioning into care.

There are still a few FREE copies left for members, which means you can have an E-Book printed and shipped to you free of charge!

To get started, log into your FDCA Member Zone here and click on the “E-Book” subheading.

Don’t forget your promo code: PRINTPROMO

How to create your E-Book

For assistance in making your very own copy of “My Family” Day Care, check out our instructional video here.