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On Monday 22 July, amendments were made to the Child Care Subsidy Minister’s Rules 2017 that require new notification obligations of Family Day Care Providers. These amendments will take effect from 1 September 2024.
The purpose of these amendments is to strengthen data integrity and accuracy about family day care educators registered with a service to:
The department consulted with FDCA on the draft amendments, and as a result of this consultation, the proposed timeframe for an approved provider to notify the Secretary after an FDC educator ceases to be engaged by or registered with the approved provider’s service was extended.
The amendments relate to Section 55 of the Child Care Subsidy Minister’s Rules: “When notification needs to be provided.” The amendments are summarised below:
Section 55 (after table item 21)
This amendment inserts a new table (Item 22) to require an approved provider to notify the Secretary if:
a) an FDC educator ceases to be engaged by or registered with any of the provider’s approved child care services;
(b) 3 months have passed since the educator last provided care on behalf of the provider.
The information must include the date the person ceased to be engaged by or registered with the service.
Notification of this information will be required within 42 days after the educator ceases to be engaged by or registered with the service; or within 7 days after the end of the 3 month period after the date the educator last provided care on behalf of the provider; whichever occurs earlier.
Section 55 (after table item 22)
This amendment inserts a new item in section 55 to require a Provider to notify the Secretary of a change of the physical address of the premises from which an FDC educator provides care for the service.
Notification will be required no later than 14 days before the change, or, if the change was not foreseeable at that time, within 7 days after the provider becomes aware of the change.
FDCA urges approved providers to familiarise themselves with the new requirements to ensure they remain compliant as of 1 September 2024.
Next week is National Child Protection Week (NCPW). NCPW aims to engage, educate and empower Australians to understand the complexity of child abuse and neglect and work together to prevent it.
In 2024, the NCPW message that ‘Every child in every community needs a fair go’ will be complemented with the theme ‘Every conversation matters’. Conversations are powerful tools to keep children and young people safe and well and can help us understand issues, craft solutions, value community knowledge, and build the brains and social connections of children and young people.
To get involved in NCPW, visit the NCPW website, ways to get involved page which includes the webinar program (places are limited, please register as soon as possible), local community events listing and art activity.
There is also a suite of brochures on child protection topics and Tips for Playing Your Part which includes a section for carers.
FDCA has developed both a hard copy and online interactive learning module Safeguarding Children: Harmful Sexual Behaviours, which is specific to the family day care setting. Both of these resources are available FREE, to all FDCA members, via the FDCA Member Zone.
Login to your FDCA Member Zone and navigate to the FDCA Learning Hub tab to access the online module. To access the digital resources, navigate to the Resources and Factsheets library, once logged into the FDCA Member Zone.
Did you know that as an FDCA member you are able to access more than 45 professional learning modules via the FDCA Learning Hub at no additional cost!
Through our partnership with Early Childhood Australia, one of Australia’s most respected early childhood professional development organisations, FDCA members can access the FDCA Learning Hub via their FDCA Member Zone at any time.
Some of the most popular modules on the FDCA Learning Hub include:
Accessing the FDCA Learning Hub
As an FDCA member, simply log into your FDCA Member Zone and navigate to the “Learning Hub” subheading, where you’ll be taken to the Learning Hub home page to access your free professional learning modules.
Australia’s First National Early Childhood Sustainability Conference - Melbourne at Swinburne University 25th - 26th October 2024. The conference program team are seeking expressions of interest from family day care educators and service staff to be part of a panel on Saturday 26th October 2024 to provide their perspective of how the EYLF V2 sustainability principle and outcomes have impacted their service and everyday practice with children.
The purpose of the panel is to share practical impacts and opportunities across a variety of early childhood sectors. The panel will have three presenters who will then be able to take questions from the conference delegates.
This opportunity is for someone in the Melbourne area and includes a complimentary delegate ticket to the conference.
The conference program can be viewed here.
Please send an email to lgs@aaeewa.org.au or phone 0400 623 131 before Friday 6 September if you would like to express your interest or discuss this opportunity further.
Early Childhood Educators' Day will take place next week on Wednesday 4 September 2024.
Early Childhood Educators’ Day recognises and celebrates the work of Australia’s educators in early learning services and the important role they play in supporting children’s wellbeing, learning and development in the early years. The day represents a wonderful opportunity to say that to Australia's early childhood educators.
Service providers and families are encouraged to get involved in the celebrations. To access resources and for ideas on how to participate, visit the Early Childhood Educators' Day website.
Calling all bookworms and lovers of literature, we invite you to nominate for the position of book reviewer for edition 106 of JiGSAW.
Not only will you receive four wonderful books to share with your family day care children, you’ll also get the opportunity to talk about the stories with them and share their thoughts and feelings about the stories with the entire sector.
If you would like to be considered as our book reviewer, please email marketing@fdca.com.au with your membership number and contact details before 5pm AEST on 30th August 2024.
Good luck to everyone!
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