Jobs, Education and Training Child Care Fee Assistance Reforms 2014-15

Jobs, Education and Training Child Care Fee Assistance Reforms 2014-15

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Jobs, Education and Training Child Care Fee Assistance Reforms 2014-15

Jobs, Education and Training Child Care Fee Assistance Reforms 2014-15

Fact sheet 12b

What will the measure achieve?

Jobs, Education and Training Child Care Fee Assistance (JETCCFA) provides parents on income support payments with additional child care fee assistance while they undertake work, study or training to enable them to enter or return to the workforce.

The Australian Government introduced two key changes to the JETCCFA programme from 5 January 2015:

1. A maximum $8 hourly cap for JETCCFA payments, after Child Care Benefit (CCB), and
2. A 36 hour weekly limit per child for JETCCFA payments to recipients undertaking study.

These changes introduced a limit on the amount of JETCCFA that a parent can claim. This will require parents to make child care choices which represent the best use of their JETCCFA payment to suit their needs while providing them the opportunity to gain skills to help them secure a job.

The Government introduced these changes to better manage expenditure and ensure recipients are accessing the programme in the most cost effective way. These changes also ensure that JETCCFA is available for as many income support families as possible to enable them to get the skills they need so that they can secure jobs, now and in the future.

Why is it important?

Changes to the JETCCFA programme were necessary to better manage JETCCFA within its available funding allocation. JETCCFApreviously had no limits to what parents could claim for their child care costs. JETCCFA spending has exceeded its budget allocation for the last two years. Additional funding of $28.9 million was provided in 2012-13 and a further $27.9 million in 2013-14. This improved targeting of the programme comes at a time when the budgetary situation is such that all Government programmes need to ensure maximum value for tax payers’ money.

What is the impact on families?

Most families will find that their current child care service can provide the number of hours needed at a cost well within the amount available, so that there will be no change to their situation. The average child care hours used by all families working or studying is around 24 hours per week and the average hourly fee for all families using Long Day Care is $7.50 per child. The $8 hourly cap is applied after CCB and will be indexed annually. Parents continue to make a small per hour contribution to their child care fees as per previous arrangements.

Parents who study and use JETCCFA can access 36 hours of care per child across the week.

CCB and Child Care Rebate payments are available for families to help with child care costs in addition to the JETCCFA payment.

When did this measure take effect?

The changes to JETCCFAtook effect from Monday 5 January 2015. JETCCFA recipients were notified of the changes by the Department of Human Services, which is responsible for assessing the eligibility for and delivery of JETCCFA payments. Families can search and compare child care services on the Government’s MyChild website[1] which provides vacancy and fee information on around 15,000 child care services Australia-wide.

How can I get more information?

To access your details or check your eligibility for child care payments, please contact the Department of Human Services by:

• visiting Department of Human Services families website[2]
• logging on to your Centrelink online account through myGov[3]and selecting ‘Child Care’ and then ‘View Child Care Details and Payments’. If you do not have a myGov account, you can create one by visiting myGovand then linking it to your Centrelink online account
• using the Express Plus Centrelink mobile app and selecting ‘Child Care’. Express Plus Centrelink is available for Apple devices with iOS7+ on the App Store and Android devices with version 4.0 and above on Google Play
• visiting a service centre
• calling 136150, or
• Teletypewriter (TTY) service on 1800810586 if you are deaf or have a hearing or speech impairment. You need a TTY phone to use this service
• 131202 if you need information in a language other than English.

Useful resources

Other useful resources include:

• for news and information on child care visit the MyChild website[4]
• to estimate and compare payments access the Child Care Estimator[5]
• A Guide to Australian Government payments.[6]

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