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FDCA is currently researching the awareness and adoption rates of artificial intelligence (AI) in the family day care sector. To assist with this, we are asking members to complete a short survey that will take 1-2 minutes.
To complete the survey, please click here.
FDCA will use these results to identify any areas of opportunity for future member support.
Family day care educators play an important role in supporting children and families every day. Looking after your own wellbeing isn’t an add-on, it’s essential for sustaining your capacity to care for others.
Be You’s Educator Wellbeing resources highlight that wellbeing is more than occasional “self-care” moments. It involves recognising stress, building supportive relationships, and creating routines that help you feel balanced and energised. You can explore practical tools, reflection guides and wellbeing planning resources at Be You - educator wellbeing.
Considerations for taking care of yourself:
Prioritising your wellbeing benefits you, your family and the children in your care. Taking small, consistent steps helps ensure you can continue to provide safe, high-quality education and care, now and into the future.
The Australian Children’s Education and Care Quality Authority (ACECQA) has released a new free National Quality Framework (NQF) eLearning course designed to help support educator and services in strengthening inclusive practice. You can access the ‘Introduction to inclusive practice’ course here.
The course includes four lessons exploring:
ACECQA has also developed a helpful companion resource ‘Deepening your inclusive practice’, a handbook designed to capture all the activities and your thoughts and reflections to utilise on your inclusion journey.
For further resources and information:
Questions have resurfaced recently about why family day care educators are classified as independent contractors, particularly with Direct Gap Fee Collection (DGFC) now in place.
There is no clause in the National Law, Regulations or Family Assistance Law that states educators must be independent contractors. Instead, the classification is determined by the nature of the relationship, primarily the written agreement (or for newer agreements, a multi-factor test).
In practice, family day care educators operate as independent businesses: they use their own ABN, set their own hours and fees (within service guidelines), choose which families to enrol, manage their own tax, super, insurance and leave, provide and maintain their own environment and resources, and carry their own business risks. These elements consistently point to an independent contractor relationship. Approved providers offer coordination, support, compliance oversight and administration – but the educator’s business remains separate.
The high level of oversight in family day care (such as home visits, policies, documentation and monitoring) does not create an employment relationship. This oversight comes from National Law, Regulations and Family Assistance Law, not from the service acting as an employer. Regulation ensures safety - it doesn’t define employment status.
Family day care educators therefore operate within two overlapping systems:
Independent contracting is also a strength of family day care. National workforce analysis (including Deloitte’s Workforce Model Review) shows that this structure supports flexibility, community-embedded practice, and viability in regional and thin markets.
DGFC has also not changed this arrangement. While services may now manage more administrative functions, the underlying business model remains the same and has been upheld consistently through case law.
For further resources and information, the following resources are helpful:
There is still time to have your say in the 2025 Early Childhood Education and Care (ECEC) Staff Survey.
Educators, directors, managers and coordinators from family day care are invited to complete the survey and go in the draw to win one of 50 x $200 gift vouchers.
Conducted by ORIMA Research on behalf of the Australian Government Department of Education, this important national survey will help:
The survey will take approximately 5-10 minutes to complete, is anonymous and seeks your feedback on:
To complete the survey, or for more information, click here.
In the fourth instalment of our series Stories from the Sector, we explore how a council-run service navigated their transition to Direct Gap Fee Collection (DGFC). As with all service types, council-led services bring their own context and experiences, and their approach highlights practical strategies that other services may find helpful. Collaboration, both within the coordination team and across the broader organisation, was a critical part of their success.
The service implemented a clear system that documented every step involved in communicating with families - from enrolment through to final payments when care ceases. This ensured consistency across the process and enabled any team member to respond effectively if a family contacted the service.
You can read this story, along with others in this series, on the FDCA website.
Best practice guides and other DGFC collection resources are also available on the dedicated DGFC page on the FDCA website and can assist you refine and strengthen your systems and documentation.
Have a question about DGFC?
If you have questions or need additional support, please contact FDCA’s Sector Support Team on 1800 658 699 or enquiries@fdca.com.au.
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