Under the new Child Care Subsidy, as of Monday 14 January 2019, approved providers will be required to report drop off and pick up times for each child for whom Child Care Subsidy is being claimed, when submitting their weekly session reports to the Federal Government.
This can be done via an electronic solution or entered manually into your third party software.
However you should consider the huge administrative burden associated with manualy data entry, which makes an electronic solution a viable alternative.
If you choose to implement an electronic sign in process, we recommend that you give some thought to the following items:
1. Ensure that the number of devices (ie. tablets) appropriately reflects the size of your service.
2. Consider the security of the devices. For example a mounted stand ensures that the device cannot be removed.
3. You will need to choose a central location for the devices to allow easy family access at drop off and pick up.
4. Your tablet will need an internet connection - check your WiFi connectivity and power point access for where you intend to locate your digital sign in stations.
5. Speak to your software provider about any specific requirements your product has prior to purchasing to ensure that what you decide on is compatible with your current system.
6. Undertake the necessary software steps to ensure families and educators have access.
7. Start educating your team about the coming changes.
8. Start educating your families about the coming changes.
9. When transitioning from paper-based rolls to electronic sign in, you must ensure that you can comply with your emergency evacuation procedures, so you should consider how you would have access to your attendance records in this scenario. For example, you could ensure one tablet has mobile network connection and can be removed from the centre when required. Alternatively you could hotspot off a mobile device - just be sure you know how to do this before the situation arises.
Just a reminder - the electronic solution in is not mandatory, but will save you a lot of time!
Background
This legal requirement for all service providers to include actual attendance times in parents’ Statements of Entitlement is set out in:
- Rule 10(i) of the Child Care Subsidy Secretary’s Rules 2017; and
- Section 204B(2) of the A New Tax System (Family Assistance) (Administration) Act 1999 (vol 2)