Published by the
Communications Division
for Early Years and Primary Reform Division
Department of Education and
Training

Melbourne
November 2015

©State of Victoria (Department of Education
and Training

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Contents

1.Introduction

2.Service provision requirements

3.Regulatory requirements

4.Guiding Principles

5.Roles and responsibilities of funded providers

6.Eligibility requirements

7.Application procedure

8.Appendix

National Occasional Care Programme Guidelines

1

National Occasional Care Programme Guidelines

1

1.Introduction

The Victorian Government is committed to supporting all children and families to access high-quality early childhood education and care.

The Department of Education and Training (the Department) supports and provides a range of learning and development opportunities for Victorian children, young people and adults.

Occasional child care plays an important role in providing care for children when parents or guardians have other commitments, or simply need a break.These guidelinesexplain the policies, procedures and funding criteria for the National Occasional Child CareProgramme forVictorian early childhood education and care providers.

Thecontinuation of the Programme is dependent upon Commonwealth funding.Service providers must take this into account when applying for funding.

The National Occasional Care Programme Objectives

The National Occasional Care Programme supports the provision of affordable and accessible occasional care. Itaims to:

  • increase access to flexible andseasonal child care, particularly for families in rural and regional areas
  • enableparents to participate in a range of day to day activities (for examplecasual orseasonal work, recreational classes, respite or medical appointments)
  • provide high-quality, safe and inclusive early childhood education and carethat allows socialisation and learning opportunities for children
  • increase accessibility to currentearly childhood education and care services,particularly sessional kindergarten programsin rural and regional areas.

National Occasional Care Programme funding

Funding for the National Occasion Care Programme is provided on the basis of effective full-time (EFT) places. More than one child can occupy one funded EFT place and it is expected that several children will occupy one place in any given week.

Services may apply for up to $15,000 per annum (based on 2015 funding rates), based on the proposed number of places to be offered and operating times. This funding is a contribution towards the service’s operating costs, such as salaries, on-costs and consumable items.

The funding rates for the National Occasional Care Programme are outlinedin Table 1 below.

National Occasional Care funding rates
Year / Funding per child per hour
2015 / $2.50
2016 / $2.55
2017 / $2.60
2018 / $2.65

In addition to annual funding approved services may be eligible for an establishment grant to assist with the implementation of the National Occasional Care Programme.

2.Service provision requirements

Service access

National Occasional Care Programme service providers are encouraged to make places accessible to families by:

  • developing links with other service providers and families, such as local government, so that information about the occasional care service is widely available in the community
  • developing priority of access policies to ensure there is fair distribution of hours of care to families seeking access to the service. It is recommended services reflect the Commonwealth guidelines on priority for allocating places in approved child care services.
  • establishing booking systems so that some places are available for families who wish to use the service for the first time or may be seeking to make a booking at short notice
  • conducting an annual survey of existing users to determine if the child care provided is meeting the needs of local families.

Hours

Services funded under the National Occasional Care Programme must operate for a minimum of 40 weeks per year. Services can operate for a maximum of nine hours per day and up to 45 hours per week. Each child may access a funded place for up to five hours per day and 15 hours per week.

Sessions should be provided at times that best meet community needs. Preferred session times can be determined by conducting a formal survey of families and/or working with other organisations, such as local government, to identify the need for occasional care services in the community.

Service providers should consider other nearby early childhood services when planning the most appropriate session timesand fee structures to ensure that the National Occasional Care Programme does not replace other early childhood education programs, such as funded kindergarten.Children eligible for kindergarten in the year before school and not enrolled in a funded kindergarten program are not eligible to occupy a National Occasional Care funded place. Service providers must also ensure they are not operating in direct competition with other local early childhood education and care services including threeyear old kindergarten programs and long day care.

Existing kindergarten providers are encouraged to consider providing ‘wrap-around' care that supports kindergarten access, for example by aligning National Occasional Care Programme times with school start and finish times.

Parent Fees

National Occasional Care funded services are required to have a comprehensive written fee policy in place and to communicate this to families. Fees should be set at a level that balances parents’ capacity to pay with the need to provide a high-quality service, with consideration also given to the potential impact on other local early childhood education and care services.

3.Regulatory requirements

The most appropriate licence type or service approval for National Occasional Care services will vary depending on the service model and/or other early childhood services offered by the service provider at the same premises.

National Occasional Care Programmeservices canoperateas either:

1.A service operating under the Education and Care Services National Law 2010and the Education Services National Regulations 2011

  1. An approved education and are service (National Quality Framework)
  2. An approved associated children’s service

2.A service operating under the Victorian Children’s Services legislation

Education and Care Services National Law Act 2010 and the Education and Care Services National Regulations 2011 (National Quality Framework)

Services approved under the Education and Care Services National Law Act 2010 (National Law) and the Education and Care Services National Regulations 2011 (National Regulations) operate under the National Quality Framework (NQF).

Service providers operating an existing kindergarten service and providing wrap-around occasional care may operate both services under National Law and National Regulations. Services operating under the NQF must consider the required minimum child to educator ratios and educator qualifications. These services are required to have access to a qualified early childhood teacher working with the serviceor have an early childhood teacher in attendance at the service.Servicesnot able to meet this requirement may apply for a waiver.

For more information regarding waivers contact the Department on 1300 307 415 see:Regulation and Quality Assessment

Further more information regarding the National Quality Framework, see:

National Quality Framework

Approved Associated Children’s Service

The Education and Care Services National Law Act 2010 (National Law) and the Education and Care Services National Regulations 2011 (National Regulations) allow that where a service provider (licensee) is operating a service under the NQF and a service under the Victorian Children’s Services Act 1996 (Victorian Act) and Children’s Services Regulations 2009 (Victorian Regulations) at one location, the service subject to the Victorian children’s services legislation may become an approved associated children’s service.

Service providers operating an existing early childhood service under the NQF and also providing an occasional care service from the same premises may operate the occasional care service as an approved associated children’s service. This allows both services to operate under one licence. Under this licence the occasional care service must comply with the requirements of the Victorian children’s services legislation while the existing service continues to operate under the NQF.

Further information regarding approved associated children’s services, see: National Quality Framework

Victorian Children's Services Legislation – Limited hours licence type 2

These services operate under the Victorian Children’s Services Act 1996 (Victorian Act) and the Children’s Services Regulations 2009 (Victorian Regulations).

A Limited hours licence type 2 (LH2) is the most appropriate licence type when occasional care is the only early childhood service operating on the premises. These services are not required to meet all the premise requirements of a standard service and are not required to have outdoor space. In services with a LH2 licence each child must receive no more than five hours a day and no more than a total of 15 hours of carea week.

Further information regarding Victorian children’s services, see: Resources for Victorian Children's Services

4.Guiding Principles

Victorian Early Years Learning Development Framework

The Victorian Early Years Learning and Development Framework (VEYLDF) is designed to advance all children’s learning and development from birth to eight years of age.

TheVEYLDF provides early childhood professionals with a common language for describing outcomes for children. The Framework outlines practice principles to guide early childhood professionals to work together, with children and with families to achieve the best outcomes for every child. Further information regarding the VEYLDF, see:Victorian Early Years Learning and Development Framework

Early Years Learning Framework

Belonging, Being and Becoming – The Early Years Learning Framework (EYLF) describes the principles, practices and outcomes that support and enhance young children’s learning from birth to five years of age.

The Framework is a key component of the Australian Government’s National Quality Framework for early childhood education and care.Further information regarding the EYLF, see:Early Years Learning Framework

National Occasional Care funded services catering for children birth to five years are required to comply with the practice principles of theVEYLDF or theEYLF.

Inclusive practice and valuing diversity

Children enrolling in occasional care services come from a variety of backgrounds and home situations. These circumstances need to be considered when engaging with parents and supporting children in the occasional care programme. Early childhood services are required to ensure that they have policies and procedures in place promoting equality for all children.

Where families are accessing additional support from other services, for example early childhood intervention services, it is important to ensure that a coordinated and sensitive approach is taken in providing support and strengthening the capacity of the family unit. (See Appendix 2 for a list of organisations that can provide further information.)

Access and equity policies

Funded providers are required to ensure they have access and equity policies in place that:

  • are clear, fair and non-discriminatory
  • comply with the Equal Opportunity Act 2010 and the Disability Discrimination Act 1992
  • outline how waiting lists will be prioritised
  • may be developed on the basis of surveys of the local community, particularly with regard to the hours of operation and the models of service delivery.

Parent participation

Parents and family provide rich and important learning experiences for children. Occasional care programmes support families in this important role and provide new learning experiences for the child, adding to those offered through family life.

TheNational Occasional Care service providershould ensure that its service reflects the needs of users by:

  • encouraging parent input into the children’s services policy and decision-making and participation in quality assessment processes for example undertaking user satisfaction surveys
  • providing anearly childhood service that is sensitive to the cultural and social backgrounds of the families, their lifestyles and their child-rearing practices
  • ensuring that parents are involved in addressing issues relating to their children’s care and development.

5.Roles and responsibilities of funded providers

Service agreements

Service providers must sign and comply with a Victorian Government service agreement in order to receive National Occasional Care Programme funding.All service agreements will be for a term of two years and will be reviewed after this time.

Service agreements set out the services to be delivered and the funding to be provided by the Department for those services. It also sets out the terms and conditions applying to the use of the funding and the Department’s accountability requirements.

Service agreements are reviewed annually by the Department through its regional offices who will assess funded services against the performance measures and targets specified forthe National Occasional Care Programme in the service agreement.

For detailed information about service agreements, please contact your Departmental regional office (see Appendix 1). The Funded Agency Channel (FAC) provides information, communication and business tool set up to assist funded organisations. To register as a FAC usercontact the FAC Help Desk on1300 799 470 , see: Service Agreement Information Kit for Funded Organisations.

Data collection

Service providers are required to report annually on occasional care service delivery to eligible children as part of the Project Agreement for the National Occasional Care Programme.Service providers will be given online access toThe National Occasional Care data collection and monitoringform in March for completion by mid-April2016. In subsequent years all National Occasional Careservice providers will be required to complete the data collection in April.

The form will collect information regarding service operation, utilisation, user characteristics and fees.

The information collected will form part of the Department’s annual report to the Commonwealth Government on National Occasional Care funding and service delivery.

Funding adjustments

The Departmentconductsan annual adjustment process for the reallocation of National Occasional Care funding from services that are under-utilised. The data provided from funded services is used to determine whether individual service provider funding should be adjusted.

Any funding adjustments will be made in accordance with the service agreement.

Service providers can apply to have funding stopped at any time. The Notice to Cease Operation form is available from regional offices.

Record keeping

If a service is receiving funding for the National Occasional Care Programme theymust keep accurate and separate records that identify the source of funding for the care provided.

Financial management and accountability reporting

Funded service providers are expected to advise the Department about their financial status and use of funds through the annual financial accountability report.

More information, see: Service Agreement Information Kit for Funded Organisations

Incident reporting requirements

All National Occasional Care funded services must inform the Department of Education and Training of any serious incident or complaint.

Should a serious incident occur or a complaint be received services must notify their Department regional office. The regional office will then advise what action and/or further reporting will be required.

There are additional requirements on funded early childhood services in relation to incident reporting (see Critical client incident management instructions from the service agreement information kit for agencies at

For more information regarding reporting critical incidents, see:

  • National Quality Framework services: Fact Sheets and Resources
  • Victorian Children’s services: Children's Services Forms

Criminal history requirements

For information regarding criminal history, see:

National Quality Framework services:Fact Sheets and Resources

Victorian Children’s services:Practice Notes

Confidentiality

Services must ensure that information regarding children, families and staff membersis collected, accessed, stored and maintained in accordance with legislative requirements.

Funded organisations are also required to comply with the Information Privacy Act 2000and the Health Records Act 2001 when requesting confidential information from families using the service. Further information regarding collecting, accessing, storing of information is available on the Privacy Victoria website.

Information regarding retention and disposal of information is available on the Public Record Office Victoria website.

More information on the Department’s privacy policy and the legislation is available at Information Privacy Policy and on the Funded Agency Channel at

Services should obtain independent advice to ensure they comply with all their confidentiality obligations.

6.Eligibility requirements

Service Providers

To be eligible forNational Occasional Carefunding the following criteria must be met:

  • the service must be located in Victoria
  • the service provider must be a not-for-profit community organisation or a local government authority
  • the servicemust be delivered in an early education and care service operating under the Education and Care Services National Law and National Regulations or as a Victorian Children’s Service
  • the service provider must sign and comply with a service agreement, including acknowledging that any future Programme extension is dependent on Commonwealth funding
  • the service must not currently bea Commonwealth Child Care Benefit approved service
  • the service must not be receiving Community Support Programme (CSP) funding for this service from the Commonwealth Government
  • registered care cannot be applied to the fee paid by families for the time spent in the National Occasional CareProgramme.

Note: