The Rainbow Children’s Centre Inc.
OOSHC ENROLMENT QUICK GUIDE 2018
Welcome to Rainbow. This guide is meant to assist you to orient to the centre, with essential information you need to know now. Please also take a copy of the Family Information Booklet which will give you more detailed information you can read as needed in the future.
1) Application Form – when you first enquired you may have filled in an application form. You will now however need to fill in the enrolment forms. They are:
a. Form A – which asks for information about your child and the enrolment you need (type of care and days of attendance) as well as asking for you and your child’s Centrelink Customer Reference Number, so we can claim Child Care Benefit (CCB) on your behalf. CCB is a means tested benefit that reduces the net fees payable to the centre each week
b. Form B – which is required under State Government Regulations which asks for information about your child, who can pick them up from the centre, who we should contact in an emergency and asks for other essential medical and family information about children to allow us to properly look after them while they are in our care. Form B also asks you to provide a copy of the child’s birth certificate and immunisation status.
c. Birth certificate/immunisation status You will also need to provide a birth certificate or similar as proof of identity and age and a printout of current immunisation status. (available from Medicare website)
2) What’s provided
a. Healthy balanced snack and drink
b. Games, craft and various outdoor activities
What you need to send.
a. Any medication your child needs to take during the day. Any prescription medication must be in the original packaging with chemist name. Please ensure you bring the medication to the attention of staff and complete a medication form.
3) Fees and Charges
a. After School Care fees:
i) East Ballina $30.00 per afternoon 3pm -6.30pm
ii) Central Ballina $30.00 per afternoon 3pm -6.30pm
iii) Lennox Head $30.00 per afternoon 3pm-6pm
iv) Woodburn $30.00 per afternoon 3.25pm – 6.25pm
b. Before School Care fees:
i) East Ballina $15.00 per morning 6.45am – start of school
ii) Lennox Head $15.00 per morning 7:00 am – 9.00am
iii) Central Ballina $15.00 per morning 7.00 am – 9.00am
iv) Woodburn $15.00 per morning 6.55am – 8.55 am
c. Vacation Care 5-12yr olds 8.00am to 6.00pm
i. Basic fee is $63.00 per day
ii. Excursions day requiring buses and entry fees, a higher fee is charged to cover the additional costs.
f. Bonds: Rainbow requires a bond of three weeks of the families’ net weekly fee to be paid upon enrolment. This is held until you give two weeks notice that you are leaving and will then be returned to your account.
g. Arrears: Accounts are to be no more than two weeks in arrears or your enrolment could be in jeopardy. If your circumstances change or you have any difficulty paying your account, please see Jodie or Jayne in the office.
4) Child Care Benefit (CCB) and Child Care Rebate (CCR)
a. CCB is a means tested subsidy provided by the Federal Government. It is paid directly to the centre by the Federal Government and reduces the net fee payable to the centre by the family each week.
b. CCR is a benefit provided by the Federal Government of 50% of the net fee payable by a family each week. Parents (or a single parent) must meet the “work/study” test and be designated “working” parents. It can be paid directly to the parent or paid to the centre to further reduce the net fee payable each week.
c. Centrelink Registration Parents need to register with Centrelink to be eligible to receive CCB and/or CCR. Both benefits are calculated and approved by Centrelink. If there is any problem with your benefit, Rainbow staff cannot fix or do anything about it. Centrelink staff will only talk to you about your benefits.
d. Child Care Benefit Amount (CCB)
i) If you have combined yearly family income up to $40,000 you are eligible for maximum CCB which is approximately $45 per day. The exact amount depends on how many children you have and how many days you attend. CCB is paid directly to Rainbow and reduces the net fee you owe each week.
ii) If you have combined family income above $40,000 and up to $140,000 you are eligible for a lesser amount of Child Care Benefit based on the level of your family income. The exact amount depends on how many children you have and how many days you attend.
iii) If you have combined family income above $140,000 you are not eligible for any Child Care Benefit, and you pay the full fee each week.
e. Child Care Rebate Amount If you are working or studying you are eligible for the Child Care Rebate regardless of your income. The amount is calculated as 50% of the weekly child care fee after any CCB entitlement has been deducted.
f. Grandparent CCB if you are a grandparent with custody of your grandchild and you receive another benefit from Centrelink, and then you may be eligible for GCCB. It will pay your full child care bill and you will have no fee to pay to the centre.
g. JET subsidy If Centrelink determines you are a low income earner who is studying to improve your prospects of work, and then you may be assessed as eligible for JET. If you receive JET then you will pay about $1 per child per hour for any child care service you use. JET is paid directly to the centre and reduces the net fee payable by you to the centre.
h. FEE payments can be made by
i) Direct payment to our bank account by internet banking. Please ask in the office for information about making these payments. Please ensure your payment is coded to your child’s name so we can identify who paid the amount.
ii) EFTPOS self service machine in the foyer at East Ballina.
iii) Cheques made payable to Rainbow Childrens Centre can be placed in the fee box in the centre
iv) Please note we do not accept cash payments.