If you run a childcare centre or provide nanny services to families, there are several changes to the child care industry underway that you should understand. Below, we summarise these changes and explain the proposed ‘Nanny Pilot Programme’.
History of the Programme
Scott Morrison (the Minister for Social Services at the time) announced the Interim Home Based Carer Subsidy Programme (Nanny Pilot Programme) in April 2015. The Nanny Pilot Programme is now open and will run until December 2017. As these changes may impact your childcare business, you should be aware of both the current pilot programme and other issues that may come up due to the changing legislation.
Nanny Pilot Programme for Families
Although only at the pilot stage, this change may have an enormous impact on the child care industry as a whole.
Some of the key aspects of the Nanny Pilot Programme that you should be aware of are:
- It runs from January 2016 to December 2017
- Subsidies will be provided to families with a greater need and will receive priority.
The programme will look at providing greater flexibility to families by subsidising nanny’s fees along with current childcare rebates. For example, if the parents are working irregular shift hours that are unsuitable or outside a childcare centre’s normal hours of operation, this could assist. Only certain types of families experiencing particular situations can apply for the rebate.
Some of the criteria for families includes:
- Must have an annual income less than $250,000;
- Must both be working, studying or training about 8 hours every two weeks;
- One parent must be an Australian citizen or permanent resident.
Nanny Pilot Programme for Service Providers
These rebates will also only apply to a certain number of participating child care providers. Some of the criteria for service providers includes:
- Availability of carers;
- Experience;
- Ability to provide service;
- Ability to deliver services across an area;
- Working for more than two years in the industry;
- Infrastructure in place to deliver the service.
The subsidy is based on the family’s income and will only cover a portion of the costs of paying for a nanny. The number of hours that the subsidy covers depends on the hours required for each family and how much the parents are not available, for example, due to work and study.
As the Nanny Pilot Programme is rolled out there will be the opportunity for community and service provider feedback before the pilot is assessed. After this point, a further assessment will be made as to possible legislative changes.
We appreciate your feedback – your submission has been successfully received.
