Fees & Subsidies
Fees
Fees are charged on a daily or weekly basis. Our fee structure is based on a ‘cost for care’ basis for each applicable age group and charged weekly in advance via direct debit from a credit card or bank account. Our process of direct debit significantly reduces administration costs and hours thereby allowing management staff to concentrate on managing the children’s quality of care. We also have a dedicated parent enquiry line for fees to connect parents to our specialised team. This eliminates considerable workload from our centre managers and staff allowing them to concentrate on the care and early learning of your child. Additionally, our specialised fee team are aware of all available subsidies and will assist you to claim your maximum subsidy entitlement, thus reducing your actual ‘out of pocket expense for use of our services.While on first glance, some parents are surprised at the fee cost, parents are encouraged to consider and are often pleasantly surprised, by the various subsidies that reduce their actual ‘out of pocket’ cost of care. These subsidies can be significant, depending on the individual’s circumstance, and greatly reduce the actual cost paid by parents. Therefore the advertised fee cost does not necessarily reflect the actual cost paid directly by parents and in most circumstances the actual out of pocket cost is significantly less than the advertised fee.
Understanding the various Subsidies can be a daunting task and our dedicated fee team is available to assist in understanding your circumstances and your eligibility to the various subsidies. While meeting with the Centre Manager, ask for an indicative fee cost after all subsidies and rebates. To arrange an appointment to speak with our centre managers regarding any questions, or to inspect one of our centres please click here.
Subsidies
Various forms of Government subsidies and rebates are available to all eligible parents. These subsidies and rebates can significantly reduce the parent fee. Many of these subsidies and rebates can be paid direct to the Centre on the parent’s behalf. This in turn reduces the weekly fee actually paid directly by the parent to the centre. Most rebates and subsidies are administered by the Government Family Assistance Office (FAO)The most widely available subsidies include:
• Child Care Benefit (CCB) – This is a federally funded benefit that is means tested and based on parent income and the number of children within each family. The subsidy can be paid directly to the centre to reduce the direct parent weekly payment. For more information select the highlighted link.
• Child Care Rebate (CCR) – This 50% rebate is based on actual out of pocket expenses after deducting all other fee subsidies. The rebate can be claimed fortnightly and paid direct to the centre. Receipts must be available. At EarlyCare, we make invoices available to all parents. Additionally we electronically lodge all fees weekly with the Government via the ‘Child Care Management System’ (CCMS) to assist in parental rebate claims. For more information select the highlighted link.
Other subsidies available include:
• Jobs, Education and Training Child Care Fee Assistance (JETCCFA)
• Special Child Care Benefit
• Grandparent Child Care Benefit
• Inclusion Support Subsidy
Understanding the various Subsidies can be a daunting task and our Centre Managers and dedicated fee team are available to assist in understanding your circumstances and your eligibility to the various subsidies. While meeting with the Centre Manager, ask for an indicative fee cost after all subsidies and rebates. To arrange an appointment or for further enquiries click here.
The Northern Territory Government also offers a subsidy that is paid directly to each centre service provider to assist in service funding. This subsidy indirectly reduces parent fees and makes a significant contribution to the quality of care and early learning programs available at all centres. EarlyCare recognises the significant contribution that the Northern Territory Government makes to parents and their children through this subsidy.