Kate Ellis, Minister for Employment Participation and Minister for Early Childhood and Child Care, promised to come back and answer your questions – and she’s done exactly that. See below for answers to plenty of questions and take a look at the video too.
1. Why is it that In-Home care that is government approved requires eligibility guidelines over and above the requirements that are met to be eligible for CCB and CCR? I for example have clients that want an In-Home carer and have say two children in good health and want someone say from 10 am to 4 pm so they do not meet the eligibility criteria as set out in any form. – Louise Dunham
Hi Louise. Thanks for your question. The eligibility criteria are stringent but they need to be when we’re talking about care that is provided in someone’s home and that comes at a considerable cost to the Government. I’m keen to hear your feedback in more detail though, especially if you think the current system is excluding people who would be high quality carers. If you’d like to contact my office on 02 6277 7630 and ask for Chris, he’ll have a chat to you about your experiences and we’ll take the feedback into consideration when making future decisions around the guidelines.
2. Why is it legal for the child care centres to charge for their services on public holidays? I know the staff still need to be paid, but as someone that charges for a service I need make allowances for days I won’t be working and charge accordingly. – Poppy
I know that this is a common practice for child care centres and it can be pretty frustrating for parents. But as businesses – like any other – it is up to child care centres themselves to make commercial decisions about how they operate and how they charge for their services.