COVID Updates
Government Amendments to Family Assistance
This week the Government introduced and passed legislative amendments to Family Assistance Law that will help families and early childhood education and care services manage the impact of the COVID-19 related events.
These new rules include:
- all families will be allocated an additional 20 days of allowable absences to use in the 2019-2020 financial year
- if additional absences are required for COVID-19 related reasons, medical evidence will not be required – active until 31 December 2020
- services will not be required to recover gap fees between now and 31 December 2020 where they are instructed to close on public health direction [Note: A legislative requirement is in place that providers must not increase fees during this period.]
Early Childhood Education and Care will Continue
As the Prime Minister has mentioned, continuing essential services such as early childhood education and care (while it is safe to do so) is crucial to continuing the education of our children, and to enabling parents, including health care professionals, to continue to work and support the broader community. It also reduces the reliance on alternative care arrangements such as grandparents or elderly relatives who are typically at higher risk of COVID-19.
Information on Centrelink about CCS and Additional Child Care Subsidy
What if my child can’t attend childcare?
What if my activity hours change?
What if my family income changes?