Frequently Asked Questions: Children’s Services

 

You will find FAQs on our Children’s Services on this page, about our Early Education and Care Centres, Out of School Hours Care Services, and our School Holiday Programs.

For questions on Family Day Care and In-Home Care, please contact your Family Day Care/In-Home Care Educator directly.

You can also contact us using our Get in Touch form here.

 


 

Children's Services Questions

We encourage you to apply for the Child Care Subsidy through Centrelink to check if you are eligible (it’s based on your family’s annual taxable income, an activity test and the type of child care service you are using).

  1. To find out if you are eligible, log into MyGov and complete your Child Care Subsidy Assessment.
  2. Centrelink will notify you once your claim has been assessed or approved.
  3. Log in to MyGov and review and accept your enrolment (this is important, otherwise you may be charged full fees even though you are eligible for the subsidy).

We know these are tough times and we want you to know that we are here for you. It’s times like these that we all need to support each other and reach out for support when we need a hand. We might not have all the answers, but we promise to listen and support you as best we can.

We have a range of support services to support families in need, with food, clothing, accommodation and crisis support (emergency relief). Please call 6293 6500 to have a discussion with someone from our Support Services team.

The government also has a range of financial and other support available, and we encourage you to review these:

If you’re eligible for Child Care Subsidy you may get extra help with the cost of approved child care. You need to be eligible for Child Care Subsidy and meet extra criteria to get Additional Child Care Subsidy.

The additional subsidies you can apply for are:

  • Grandparent
  • Transition to Work
  • Temporary Financial Hardship.

There’s also a Child Wellbeing subsidy you can ask your child care service about. They need to apply for it on your behalf.

To find out more, please visit the Services Australia website.

This is your family enrolment account on our website to enrol in Out of School Hours Care (OSHC) services and School Holiday Programs. For enrolling into any other service, please refer to question 7.

Once you set up your account you can:

  • Make, change or stop your bookings
  • Update your payment details
  • Update your personal details
  • Book multiple holiday programs with one enrolment
  • Add an authorised pick up person
  • Update your direct debit details

[For our Out Of School Hours Care – Before and After School Care, and Early Education & Care Centres]

Use the KindyNow App to make quick and easy casual one-off bookings, to notify us of absences, or to make advance bookings up to two weeks ahead.  Download from the Apple store or from the Google Play Store. (Note: you must first enrol and receive confirmation from us before downloading this app).

As part of our Duty of Care it’s important we confirm the whereabouts of every child booked into our service each day.  So please notify us if your child will be absent. This is your responsibility to contact us directly.
For Out of School Hours Care and Early Education and Care: Please use the Kindynow App to notify us of an absence, you can also notify us via email, or phone.
For Family Day Care and In-Home Care, you must notify your educator directly via email or phone.

(effective 14  Aug 2023)

  • $87.25 for in-service days (days on which educators at the service run activities for the children).
  • $102.25 for incursion days (days on which external providers bring in special activities to the school holiday program service).
  • $122.25 for excursion days (days on which educators and children visit an external location from the school holiday program location for fun activities).

Please note: these daily rates apply to all our school holiday program locations except for Ngunnawal Child Care and Education Centre, and Narrabundah Early Childhood Service School Holiday Programs. These centres operate at standard long daycare rates during the school holidays.

By supporting Communities at Work children’s services, you’re supporting the Canberra community. Not only
are we a leading provider of children’s services, but we reinvest every dollar we make into the community, providing valuable support to people experiencing hardship (food, clothing, accommodation and crisis support).

We also provide community services and programs for seniors and people living with a disability. Our Galilee School supports vulnerable and at-risk young people in achieving positive educational outcomes.

So you can feel good, knowing that your child is getting the best care available all while supporting those in need in your community.

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