Government and Community Services and Resources

When a family is first starting in Education and Care, it is important to ensure they are aware of the information related to the benefits and support they can access. Services need to understand and provide correct information regarding fee subsidies to families. 

Government funding and rebates are available for families using education and care services. The subsidies aim to assist families in accessing quality and affordable child care.

Each level of government has different responsibilities for the provision and funding of children's education and care services, including:

The Australian Federal Government:

• financial assistance to eligible families to help with the costs of child care operational and capital funding to certain child care providers, and to support the provision of quality care
• funding for state and territory governments through national partnership agreements
• administered through the Federal Department of Education. 

State and territory governments' child care responsibilities vary but can include, for example:

• providing operational and capital funding to non-government service providers.

Financial support for families:

• Child Care Subsidy (CCS) provides funding to services to reduce the cost to families of accessing child care services. It makes childcare more affordable to families.
• Higher CCS provides financial assistance for families with more than one child enrolled in childcare.
• Additional Child Care Subsidies (ACCS) assist families and children facing barriers in accessing affordable child care, including additional fee assistance to families and children who are genuinely disadvantaged. Eligibility includes grandparent support, transitioning from certain income support payments to work, experiencing temporary financial hardship and caring for a vulnerable child or at risk of harm, abuse, or neglect.
• Inclusion Support Subsidy paid to the service to contribute towards the costs of supporting children with ongoing high support needs.

Watch

Watch this YouTube clip from Services Australia to find more information on the child care subsidy (CCS) (0.46 seconds).

Learn More

To discover essential information about child care in Australia with regards to funding, refer to the relevant section in this guide from the Parliament of Australia: Child Care in Australia: a Quick Guide.

Providing access to information about family assistance and the Child Care Subsidy can include offering access to websites, links or referring to the Family Assistance hotline. This information should also be included in the service's Parent Handbook.

Website

Services Australia offers information on the Child Care Subsidy, and the Type of Child Care you use affects it. You can also find out more about ACCS  and Inclusion Support Subsidy.

There are national, state and territory services dedicated to supporting families. Services can conduct research to source information about community services and resources that are available to families using digital media, such as the internet. This also assists educators in accessing the most current information from services and organisations' websites.

Services must keep contact information up to date to provide this to families. This can be achieved by registering on mailing lists to the services, so they are informed of any changes and can communicate this to families.

National resources to assist families include Centrelink, Family Assistance and Department of Human Services and the Department of Social Services.

The Department of Social Services funds some children and parenting support programs. These include:

• Children and Parenting Support (CaPS) is an early intervention and prevention for the risk of neglect or abuse within families.
• Home Interaction Program for Parents and Youngsters (HIPPY) is an in-home parenting and early childhood program to assist families with children's learning and development before school starts.
• Budget Based Funded (BBF) provides access to quality support services that focus on child care and school readiness.

State and Territory resources and programs vary according to the location and the initiatives in place. Generally, services such as child protection are managed at the state and territory levels. Other services that may be offered include programs such as Triple P – Positive Parenting Programs, which provide parents of children aged 3-8 years with parenting strategies to manage behaviours better and prevent problems from developing. 

State and territory programs also include services to support families, such as:

• Perinatal anxiety and depression
• Domestic violence
• Adoptive families
• Parent link programs
• Family relationship and support services
• Information for families comprises same-sex couples
• Grandparents as carers and kinship carers
• Support for fathers, single-parent families, and stepfamilies.

Website

To find out more about services that are available to families, go to Raising Children, Parent and Family Services.

Activity 4A

Community Supports and Resources

Conduct some research into the services and resources available for children and families in your state and territory. 

Develop a list of the services, what they provide, who is eligible and their contact details.

Ensure that you keep notes for future reference, as this information will support your assessment and professional practice.

Referrals

Educators can be a useful source of information to families, which can be maintained in the services' parent handbook or on its website. Providing families with resources and support is an early intervention approach that aims to prevent a potential issue from escalating by applying for needed support early.

When services have up-to-date information about the services and resources available to families, they can support families to make referrals to obtain the needed support. A referral is often made using the support services website, phoning the service, or completing an application form to register the parent's need or interest.