Blog - Australian Childcare Alliance

New technology platform for ECEC services

The new Child Care Subsidy brings with it a new IT system – the Child Care Subsidy System (CCSS) – which will replace CCMS and will be used to administer payment of the new subsidy.

To access the CCSS key service personnel will need to register in an online authentication system called PRODA (Provider Digital Access), which features a two-step verification process to give individuals secure access to Government online services. PRODA is also used for access to other government services such as the National Disability Insurance Scheme (NDIS).

In the transition to the new Child Care Subsidy regime, Early Childhood Education and Care (ECEC) services may consider different session types or models to better meet the needs of their families under the new regime (whilst not obligated to do so).

A new approach may better suit your ECEC service, along with your families due to potential affordability and accessibility impacts for families.

Those service providers that choose to offer more varied session structures will need to determine the impacts of “sessional care” (i.e. 4-6 hour daily sessions) on their operations and parental access, along with the financial implications in the context of their long-term financial viability.

To help you consider your service model options and determine the most sustainable way ahead for your service under the new system, ACA recently commissioned PwC (formerly known as Pricewaterhouse Coopers) to develop a modelling tool for member use. We've named it the Flexible Affordable Modelling Tool (FAMT).

New CCS Estimator

The Department of Education and Training (DET) has recently announced two new developments surrounding the new Child Care Package and the new Child Care Subsidy:

1/ Online calculation of fortnightly $ support for families

Families can now calculate the level of fortnightly financial support they can expect to receive using Centrelink's Payment and Service Finder.

This online tool will ask families a set of questions about their circumstances, including their shared income and estimated hours of work/study along with the hourly rate of their particular Early Childhood Education and Care (ECEC) service, to provide an estimate of their fortnightly Child Care Subsidy.

As many Early Childhood Education and Care (ECEC) service providers would be aware, under the new Child Care Package which takes effect on 2 July, approved service providers will be required to report drop off and pick up times for each child 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.

The good news is the government has recently announced a 6 month delay for enforcing this requirement, following feedback from ACA and the ECEC sector more broadly about the enormous practical implications of having to report this information.