Service providers that commenced operating on or after 6 April will not have a reference period to use when applying for the Early Childhood Education & Care Relief Package. Therefore these services will need to apply for the Exceptional Circumstance Supplementary Payment.
The application process is via an online form, available on the DESE website here. (Scroll down and click on the word "Application".)
Please note: If you started an online application prior to Thursday 16th April you will need to clear your browsing history and cookies in order to access the latest version of the application form.
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When you get to Question 8 in the online application form: In both of the above two scenarios, you should check the first option at question 8 and click "next". (The inference is that your attendance exceeds zero, which is what the attendance would have been in the reference week given.) If the application is granted, services can reapply for an additional payment four weeks after the initial application. |
Frequently Asked Questions
Will providers in this category receive a Business Continuity amount and be topped up if numbers grow? If so how will this be calculated? (ie. 50% of their first two weeks of attendance)
Providers with a new service that commence operating on or after 6 April can apply through the supplementary payment process to establish a base payment. To do this they need a fortnight’s worth of data and supporting evidence. The weekly base payment is calculated using 50% of the weekly hours of care provided, multiplied by the CCS hourly fee cap for that service type.
After this, they can apply for a further supplementary payment (in the next 4 week period) should demand continue to grow.
Alternatively will providers only receive payments based on arrears data provided with an ‘Exceptional Circumstance Supplementary Payment’ application?
In order for the department to assess eligibility for any payments, the care needs to have been given, with the supporting evidence for this attached to the online application.
Is there a different criteria applied to these services if they do not qualify for JobKeeper?
Provider ineligibility for JobKeeper may be considered in limited circumstances and will be looked at on a case by case basis. However, situations where some of a provider’s services are eligible and some are not due to when the service commenced operation, would not generally be considered grounds for a supplementary payment beyond the base payment or further demand payments outlined above.