The Australian Government supports eligible families with the cost of early childhood education and care through the payment of child care assistance. Child care assistance is administered under the Family Assistance Law by the Australian Government Services Australia.
Information regarding eligibility for child care assistance may be found on the
Services Australia website. Alternatively, families may wish to telephone Services Australia directly on 131 272 (Monday to Friday, 8am to 8pm).
Approval to administer the Child Care Subsidy (CCS)
Early childhood education and care providers must be approved to operate a service and administer the
Child Care Subsidy (CCS). The Australian Government operates the CCS scheme.
For more information, read the Child Care Provider Handbook.
Funding and support
The Queensland Government provides a range of funding and support options to assist with the delivery of early childhood education and care services.
Fees
Approved providers of early childhood education and care services are required to have a written policy about the setting and collection of fees they charge to families using their service.
In addition, families must be notified at least 14 days before any changes are made to the fees policy that will affect the way fees are charged or collected (Regulation 172(2)).
If the service does not have a written policy about fees and/or the service has not provided the required 14 days' notice of any changes to the fees, families are able to make a complaint about this to the department's
regional office in which the service is located.
If families wish to challenge the fees or seek reimbursement, they would need to seek their own legal advice.