DSS1677.10.15
CCMS Newsletter Issue 78 October 2015 Welcome It’s been a very busy year in child care and early learning! This issue contains helpful information about a number of changes, as well as information about how services can seek assistance in relation to the Child Care Management System (CCMS). Topics in this issue include: portfolio changes, the Nanny Pilot Programme, a Family Day Care update, information about the consequences of non-compliance, the Community Support Programme. Kay Millican, Director, Child Care Payments Support for Services
Child Care Portfolio Change Senator the Hon Simon Birmingham was sworn in as Minister for Education and Training on 21 September 2015. Minister Birmingham’s Education and Training portfolio has been expanded to include child care & early learning. Minister Birmingham’s media release regarding his appointment can be found here. Please note that contact details for the department remain unchanged. You will be notified of changes to contact information as they occur.
Nanny Pilot Programme Delivery Applications for Child Care Services are Open Now Applications are now open for service providers to deliver the Australian Government’s new Nanny Pilot Programme, which will subsidise the cost of nannies for families who struggle to access mainstream child care services. The two-year pilot will formally commence in early 2016 when service providers begin matching nannies to participating families. The start date for a nanny will depend on a family’s requirements, and when a suitable nanny is available. We expect that the take up of the pilot will grow over time as more nannies and families are progressively matched and care commences.
The pilot will help the Government develop future policy for care provided in the family home. Service providers will be selected by the Department through an open competitive selection process assessing their capacity, experience and competency. Service providers will select nannies through a robust recruitment process to meet the needs of the families allocated to them. They will be responsible for monitoring nannies’ performance and managing the payment of nannies’ fees, including the subsidised component. The Nanny Pilot Programme guidelines outline the application and assessment processes, and confirm funding arrangements and roles and responsibilities. Service providers have until 2pm AEDT on 22 October 2015 to apply to deliver the pilot. Applications are also open for families wishing to participate in the pilot programme. Families have until 5pm AEDT on 30 October 2015 to apply. Further information on the pilot is available at www.dss.gov.au/nannypilot
CCMS Newsletter Issue 78
Family Day Care Update Guidance for Services on Changes to Legislation The Australian Government has announced changes to family assistance law affecting Child Care Benefit approved family day care services. Coming into effect from 12 October 2015, the changes are intended to end ‘child swapping’ in the family day care sector, except for specified circumstances. Child swapping is a practice where a family day care educator, or their partner, receives child care payments for a session of family day care provided to their child on the same day that they themselves provide family day care. Family day care educators can continue to use family day care for their own children. However, on a day an educator is providing family day care to other children they, or their partner, are not eligible to receive child care payments for their child unless specified circumstances apply.
Specified circumstances include instances where: the child has been diagnosed as having a particular disability or medical condition the service is receiving payment of Inclusion Support Subsidy because the child is undergoing continuous assessment of a disability the child lives in a remote, or very remote, area within Australia on the same day as the child receives care through a family day care service, the family day care educator is required to work (other than as a family day care educator), or attend particular education or training For any of the specified circumstances to apply, documentary evidence must have been provided to the approved family day care service. The service will need to retain the documentary evidence and keep a register. Family day care educators can still claim child care payments if they place their child with other service types, such as long day care.
An operational guide is now available to all family day care services to assist them to comply with these new rules. The operational guide includes a ‘specified circumstances information request’ to help services comply with their responsibilities to request information. A register of specified circumstances is also now available, go to: https://www.dss.gov.au/families-andchildren-programmes-services-earlychildhood-child-care-family-daycare/family-day-care-legislation-changesregister-of-specified-circumstances For more information and the latest frequently asked questions, go to: https://www.dss.gov.au/families-andchildren/programmes-services/earlychildhood-child-care/family-daycare/family-day-care-legislation-changeschild-swapping-faqs The Operational Guide on the legislation changes is available, go to: https://www.dss.gov.au/families-andchildren-programmes-services-earlychildhood-child-care-family-daycare/family-day-care-legislation-changesoperational-guide If you suspect a child care service is doing the wrong thing you can call the Child Care Support Line on 1800 664 231 or email tipoffline@dss.gov.au.
Non-Compliance Can Cost Your Business There are serious consequences for Child Care Benefit (CCB) approved child care services that do not comply with their obligations under family assistance law. Penalties include suspension and cancellation of the service’s CCB approval, financial penalties, criminal investigation and prosecution. The following are actual cases where services have breached their obligations under family assistance law and the Department has taken compliance action. 2
CCMS Newsletter Issue 78
Case 1 A family day care service breached its obligation to charge no more than the usual fee for individuals eligible to receive Jobs Education and Training Child Care Fee Assistance (JETCCFA). Services may not charge higher fees for eligible families than they charge for regular families. Investigators found that the service had increased its fees once parents became eligible for JETCCFA. In overcharging for nine children over a one month period, the service was given 22 infringement notices and fined over $550,000. The Department checks the attendance data you submit. If it is incorrect, you may, like this service, have to face the consequences.
Case 2 When a family day care service employed more educators than it was permitted under its State Regulatory Authority Service Approval (the Service Approval specified the educator limits as well as the ratio of coordinators to educators), the Department imposed conditions for continued CCB approval on the service. When the service continued to exceed their educator limits and failed to employ the appropriate ratio of co-ordinators, the Department cancelled its CCB Approval. The service failed to have adequate governance processes in place and their failure to adequately monitor educators posed an unacceptable risk to the safety of children. Compliance with the National Law is a condition of approval for CCB. The Department and State Regulatory Authorities work together to ensure family day services are compliant with family assistance law and the National Law. For more information on the Department’s Child Care Payments Compliance Programme, go to: www.dss.gov.au https://www.dss.gov.au/ourresponsibilities/families-andchildren/programmes-services/earlychildhood-child-care/child-care-paymentscompliance-programme
If you suspect a child care service is doing the wrong thing you can call the Child Care Support Line on 1800 664 231 or email tipoffline@dss.gov.au.
Community Support Programme (CSP) Changes to Family Day Care Eligibility From 1 July 2015 all Family Day Care services applying for support from the CSP have been subject to tightened eligibility criteria requiring that they are the sole provider of Family Day Care in regional, remote or disadvantaged areas where there is demand for child care or market failure. The eligibility criteria and an annual cap have been introduced to ensure that CSP funding is targeted in a way that is fair, sensible and sustainable. The Department has republished the CSP Family Day Care Self-assessment Tools which assist services wishing to undertake an assessment of their eligibility for CSP funding. These have been updated following a reassessment of the location of each service’s coordination unit and the location of its educators. These tools and further information is available from: Community Support Programme | Department of Social Services, Australian Government.
Contacting the CCMS Helpdesk? Remember your ID The CCMS Helpdesk wants to assist you with your query as quickly as possible, please remember to have your CCMS Organisation ID or CCB Approval ID ready when you call. You can locate your Organisation Id or CCB Approval Id in the following places: software administration screen CCMS remittance advice Family statement CCB Approval letter 3
CCMS Newsletter Issue 78
Having your ID ready will assist us to resolve your query efficiently and help to reduce call wait times. Before you call the CCMS Helpdesk, please ensure that you are listed as an authorised contact within your CCMS Software. The CCMS Helpdesk cannot discuss protected information with any person not listed as an authorised contact within their CCMS Software. For more information on how to update your authorised personnel, please refer to your software training material.
Updates to CCMS Information on the Department’s Website We are continuing to update the CCMS pages on the Department’s website for service providers. These pages will provide you with useful information to help you with daily management of CCMS and trouble shooting. We encourage you to check our website material for the answer to your question before contacting the CCMS Helpdesk. This will be especially useful during busy periods of the year, when there may be an extended wait time on the CCMS telephone line. Using the FAQs on the CCMS website will allow you to find an answer yourself and ensure you are aware of what sort of information CCMS can and cannot provide service providers. CCMS frequently asked questions, fact sheets and other useful information can now be found on the Department of Social Services website: www.dss.gov.au. To find the CCMS material, click on the following menus:
Families and Children o Programmes and Services Early Childhood and Child Care
FAQs: https://www.dss.gov.au/ourresponsibilities/families-andchildren/programmes-services/earlychildhood-child-care/help-using-thechild-care-management-system CCMS fact sheets: https://www.dss.gov.au/ourresponsibilities/families-andchildren/programmes-services/earlychildhood-child-care/child-caremanagement-system-fact-sheets Notifiable Events: https://www.dss.gov.au/ourresponsibilities/families-andchildren/programmes-services/earlychildhood-child-care/information-forexisting-child-careservices/notification-of-changes-toyour-child-care-services
Complaints The Department of Social Services aims to provide consistent and quality services to the Australian community through its staff and service providers. The department has established complaints handling processes that can be utilised if you feel that you have not received adequate service from the department. You are encouraged to first contact the team responsible (e.g. the CCMS Helpdesk) to try and resolve any outstanding issues and failing this you can contact the department’s complaints team via: • Telephone: 1800 635 035 • Fax: (02) 6133 8442 • Email: complaints@dss.gov.au Mail: DSS Feedback, PO Box 7576, Canberra Business Centre, 2610
Please ensure you visit this page before contacting the CCMS Helpdesk. Quick links to CCMS information include: The Child Care Service Handbook: https://www.dss.gov.au/NODE/39071 4
CCMS Helpdesk regular operating hours CCMS Helpdesk operators are available to take your calls from 9 am to 6 pm AEST/AEDT, Monday to Friday. To ensure our helpdesk operators are able to give you the best possible service, we undertake training and development activities during the following times: - second Wednesday of every month (1 pm shutdown) - last Wednesday of every month (9 am to 10 am) The CCMS Helpdesk is also closed on ACT and national public holidays. If you would like to make a suggestion about information to be included in future CCMS newsletters, email us at ccmshelpdesk@dss.gov.au.