Communities at Work

The ACT Government has implemented a 7-day lockdown, effective from 5 pm Thursday 12 August 2021 till 5 pm Thursday 19 August 2021. As per the directive, all our Children’s Services are operating as usual. Please refer to our COVID-19 page for more information and the status of our services.

Yes, all our services are approved for Child Care Subsidy (CCS). Find out more about your eligibility for CCS on the Services Australia website.

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).

While Free Child Care through the Early Childhood Education and Care (ECEC) Relief Package ended on July 12, 2020, there is a range of support available for families experiencing hardship.

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. Please speak to the manager of your service or centre or call us at 6293 6500 if you are struggling or need support.

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

• Click here for ACT Government’s Support for those impacted by COVID-19.
• Click here for Services Australia’s information about financial and support options for families, including the ACCS, which we have provided more detail on below. Sometimes, it can take time for your application to be approved, so it’s a good idea to begin the process as soon as possible.

Child Care Subsidy (CCS) and Additional Child Care Subsidy (ACCS) has restarted from 13 July 2020.

Under the ACCS, you may receive up to additional child care subsidy towards your child care fees, for up to 100 hours of care per fortnight, if:

• You are experiencing financial hardship and you need help paying your child care fees.
• Your income has been reduced because you have lost your job, you are caring for a seriously ill family member or have recently lost a family member you may be eligible.

You can apply online via myGov, or in-person by visiting your local Centrelink office. To support your application, it is helpful if you have evidence documentation that details the following:

• The event or incident that has caused your financial hardship, e.g. lost a job, substantially reduced income, family illness, natural disaster etc;
• How this event has affected your family’s ability to pay your child care fees.

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

You can also read our post on tips for seeking help from Centrelink here.

Yes, Communities at Work continues to work hard to support children, families, clients and our community during the COVID-19 crisis.

All our children’s services (Early Education and Care Centres, Out of School Hours Care services, and Family Day Care and In-Home Care) are operating as usual.

Our highest priority is the health and wellbeing of your children and our educators and staff. We have implemented increased hygiene, cleaning and other measures across all of our services to reduce the risk of infection and spread.

Find out more about Communities at Work’s response to COVID-19.

Our team can help you with that. If you fill in the Get in Touch form on our website, we will contact you and work through what you’re after, covering things like the hours and location you need and any specific requirements you may have. You can explore our children’s services here.

Please use the following links for enrolments:

• Out of School Hours Care (Before and After School Care): Enrolment Application
• School Holiday Programs: Enrolment Application
• Family Day Care: FDSee Portal

For enrolments in a Child Care and Education Centre, please visit the respective centre page and click on the “Enquire Now” button.

All Child Care and Education Centres

You can contact the Children’s Services Enrolments Team between 9 AM to 5 PM (Monday-Friday) on:

• Phone: 1300 212 273
• Email: enrolments@commsatwork.org

This is your family enrolment account on our website to enrol in Out of School Hours Care (OSHC) services including 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

[Applicable to 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).

The daily rate for our Child Care and Education Centres is usually $121 – $131 per day (depending on the centre).

Please check the fees for the relevant Early Education and Care service on the respective Child Care Centre page.

Our fees vary depending on the location and type of service. Please check the fees for the relevant OSHC service on the respective OSHC page.

• Before School Care: usually $23- $28 per day (depending on permanent or casual booking)
• After School Care: usually $31 – $39 per day (depending on permanent or casual booking.

Note: These are the fees before any Child Care Subsidy is applied. We request y

All our school holiday programs operate as per the following rates, except for Narrabundah Early Childhood Service and Ngunnawal Child Care and Education Centre school holiday programs:

• $75 for in-service days: educators at the service run activities for the children.
• $85 for incursion days: external providers bring fun activities to the school holiday program service.
• $90 for excursion days: educators and children visit an external location from the school holiday program service.

Our school holiday programs run in the following locations:

• Amaroo School
• Charles Weston School
• Fadden Primary School
• Maribyrnong Primary School
• Monash Primary School
• Mount Rogers Primary School 
• Neville Bonner Primary School
• Palmerston District Primary School
• Wanniassa Hills Primary School
• Isabella Plains Early Childhood Service
• Narrabundah Early Childhood School (only available to in-service families)
• Ngunnawal Child Care and Education Centre (only available to in-service families)

Please use the Get in Touch form on our website to provide any feedback. We’ll strive to get back to you at the earliest!

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.