CCMS Fact Sheet – 2012: Changes (6)1

CCMS Fact Sheet – 2012

Changes (6)

Fee Sets

In this fact sheet:

  • Overview
  • How to report fees to the CCMS
  • Questions and answers
  • Who to contact for assistance

Overview

Approved services are obligated under family assistance law to notify the Department ofEducation and Training (DET) (formerly the Department ofSocial Services) of changes to the service’s fee schedule. DET uses the information it receives about services’ fee schedules for a number of purposes, including publishing the information on the MyChild website.
MyChild contains a range of information for families that are looking for a child care provider, including available vacancies, fees and quality ratings. From 1 October 2012 you will be required to report a standard fee set to DET using your CCMS registered software. The information you provide will be used to automatically update your service information on the MyChild website. Reporting this information through the CCMS means you will no longer need to use the online fee form via the MyChild website to update your fees.

How to Report Fees to the CCMS

The information you enter into your software to send to the CCMS about fees is in a standard format across all services types. The information you provide to the CCMS about your service fees may not reflect the exact fee schedule for your service. You should record the details of the standard fees closest to the categories below that you charge to families. Also include information about whether extras such as meals and nappies are included.

Age Groups

Choose the most appropriate option/s for your service type. You can choose more than one option if you have varying fees for each age group. The options to choose from are:

  • 0 to 12 months
  • 13 to 24 months
  • 25 to 35 months
  • 36 months to preschool age
  • Over preschool age

Allowable age groups will vary depending on your service type. For example, you will not be able to report 0 to 24 months at an OSHC service.

Fee Sessions

Depending on your service type, there are mandatory session types for fee information. Choose the mandatory option for your service type first. The options are:

  • Hourly
  • Weekly
  • Full day session
  • Half day session
  • Preschool session
  • Before school session
  • After school session

It will depend of your service type which mandatory session you can choose. The mandatory sessions for each service type are:

  • LDCFull day session
  • BSCBefore school session
  • ASCAfter school session
  • VACFull day session
  • FDCHourly session
  • IHCHourly session
  • OCCHourly session

You can select and report other sessions after you have reported your mandatory session type.

Fee Amount

Report the amount you are charging for the session types that you have selected. The minimum rate and maximum rate only apply to Family Day Care and In Home Care. For all other service types the minimum and maximum rate should be the same. You need to tell DET what the fee is for your standard service. The fee amount can include up to two decimal places (for example, $5.50 per hour).

FDC and IHC Schemes are required to know and have full visibility and details of the fee schedule of each Carer. The fee information that a scheme provides to DET about fees should show the minimum fee (the lowest fee) and the maximum fee (the highest fee) for each session type charged by all carers affiliated with a scheme.

Meals and Nappies

Choose items that are included in the fee amount you have nominated. You can choose from:

  • Nappies
  • Breakfast
  • Morning Tea
  • Lunch
  • Afternoon Tea
  • Other meals included

Transport Service, Educational Programmes and Excursions

The Transport Service option informs families that your service offers assistance with moving children safely from one activity to another. For example, you may be an OSHC service that provides a bus service from the child’s school to your premises or you may provide transport for children to preschool or other activities.

The Educational Programmes option informs families that your service offers additional activities to the Early Years Learning Framework. For example, art and craft activities or dance classes which may incur an additional charge (See more information about the Early Years Learning Framework).

The Excursion/Incursion option informs families that your service offers excursions or incursions. An excursion is a visit to a place that is not on your premises. An incursion is an event or visit that happens at your premises.

Choose the option for each of the above that best fits your fee structure. Options are:

  • Yes – Included in Fee
  • Yes – Not Included in Fee
  • No
  • Other – Contact Service
  • Information Not Provided

More detail can be provided in the Additional Comments field.

Contact Details for Publication on MyChild

Provide a phone number that will be published on the MyChild website. It is important that you include the area code so families may contact you to enquire about your service and vacancies. If you wish you can also provide your email address and website details.

Contact Details for the Department

The individual identified in this section may be contacted by DET to clarify any element of the submission. Please ensure the person nominated is available and has the knowledge and authority to confirm or change elements of the submission. You will need to provide the nominated person’s email and telephone contact details.

Additional Comments

This is a free text field in which you can type any additional information you would like families to know. It is limited to 1000 characters. To maintain consistency please use the basic formatting guide below:

  • Always provide complete sentences, rather than single words.
  • Always spell out all acronyms as market research has indicated that families are not always aware of what acronyms stand for.
  • Always use a hash (#) to represent a dot or numbered point.

Date of Effect

This is the date that your new fees will apply. This can be up to 14 calendar days in the future. Use a date of effect that is at least tomorrow as you cannot have a date of effect that is today or in the past.

Questions and Answers

What are fees?

Fees are the full amount charged to families for child care provided by your service before any Government subsidies such as CCB and CCR are applied.

Is there a mandatory fee session for my service?

Yes, you must report the fees for mandatory session types for your service type before other sessions can be reported. For example, the mandatory session for long day care is a full day session. After the full day session is reported you can choose to advertise half day and weekly fees as well.

The below table is anexample of fees reported for a long day care centre.

Age Group / Mandatory Full Day Session / Additional Half Day Session / Additional Weekly Session
0 to 12 months / $100 / $80 / $500
13 to 24 months / $100 / $80 / $500
25 to 35 months / $95 / $60 / $475
36 months to preschool / $95 / $60 / $475

Some CCMS registered software products may default to the mandatory sessions and age groups for your service type, others will not and you will need to choose the correct session type. A full list of mandatory age groups and sessions for each service type is available in the Guide to Providing Your Service Fees through CCMS.

How can I report a variety of fees?

A variety of combinations of age groups, sessions and fees may be reported. Ensure that if you report other sessions (after the mandatory session) that you include the same session type for each age group your service provides care.

For example, if you are a long day care service you could report daily and weekly fees. If you choose to do this you must report daily and weekly fees for each age group you are reporting. If you are an occasional care service, you could report hourly and daily fees. The fees can be different amounts as long as hourly and daily fees are reported for each age group you have chosen. If you are reporting daily and weekly fees for 0 to 12 months you must also report daily and weekly fees for other age groups.

When can I start using the CCMS to update my fee information?

You can start using the CCMS to update fee information as soon as you have upgraded your software. However, new fee information will not be published on the MyChild website until after 1 October 2012.

Will the changes be automatically updated?

Your fee record submitted using your CCMS software will be extracted from the system and sent elsewhere within DET for processing. Any updated information that you provide will be displayed on the MyChild website after approximately 14 days.

What if I make a mistake when I complete and submit my fee details?

Simply create a new record using your software and submit it. This replaces the old record in CCMS.

What should I do if my fee details are incorrect on MyChild?

Create a new record in your software and submit it to the CCMS to update the information displayed on MyChild.

How far in advance can I submit a fee record?

You can submit a fee record up to 14 calendar days in advance by changing the ‘Date of Effect’ to reflect the start date of the new fee.

When do I need to update my fees?

An authorised person will need to update your fees each time they change, OR when the fees have not been updated for 18 months, even if they have not changed.

What will DET do with the updated fee information?

The information submitted via CCMS registered software will be published on the MyChild website. The information will be used by DET for statistics and may be used for compliance purposes where a service reports higher than average fees for a child in receipt of SCCB, GCCB or JETCCFA.

How do I update the authorised person in my CCMS registered software?

Personnel records including key persons, authorised persons and service contacts may be updated via CCMS registered software after you install a software upgrade sometime before 1 October 2012. For more information see CCMS Fact Sheet July 2012 Changes – Number 3 Personnel Records.

What do I do if the location of my service on the MyChild map is incorrect?

On the MyChild page where the map of your service is located follow the ‘let us know’ link at the bottom. Please note: if you have changed your business address this can be updated via your CCMS registered software.

Will I be able to view current and historical records?

You will be able to view all current and future records, but historical fee records are not kept.

I am an OSHC service. Do I need to report fees separately for each component?

Yes. You will need to report a separate fee for Before School, After School and Vacation care services you operate.

Who to Contact for Assistance

  • If you encounter difficulties submitting your fees:
  • Refer to the Guide to Providing your Fees through the CCMS
  • Refer to your software support information
  • Contact the CCMS Helpdesk by phoning 1300 667 276 or email .

CCMS Fact Sheet – 2012: Changes (6)1