COVID-19: Early Childhood Education and Care Relief Package
On 2 April 2020, the Australian Government announced the new Early Childhood Education and Care Relief Package. From Monday 6 April 2020 weekly payments will be made directly to early childhood education and care services in lieu of the Child Care Subsidy and the Additional Child Care Subsidy, to help them keep their doors open and employees in their jobs.
Payments will be made until the end of the 2019-20 financial year and families will not be charged fees during this time. These payments will complement the JobKeeper Payment announced by the Prime Minister on 30 March 2020.
Early childhood education and child care services do not need to apply for the payments, they will be paid automatically.
In addition, up to and including 5 April 2020, services can now waive gap fees for families due to the impact of COVID-19. This can go back as far as 23 March 2020 and is in addition to changes already announced..
For more information:
- Department of Education, Skills and employment COVID-19 page.
- Information for early childhood education and care providers and services - PDF
Source: education.gov.au