The Guides to Social Policy Law is a collection of publications designed to assist decision makers administering social policy law. The information contained in this publication is intended only as a guide to relevant legislation/policy. The information is accurate as at the date listed at the bottom of the page, but may be subject to change. To discuss individual circumstances please contact Services Australia.

1.1.S.40 Sessions of care (CCS)

Definition

A 'session of care' is the period of time that an approved provider (1.1.A.90) charges a fee to an individual (1.1.I.90) for providing child care. A session of care may be of any length up to, but cannot exceed, 12 hours.

To avoid doubt, a genuine legal liability must arise under an arrangement which requires an individual to pay the fee irrespective of any payment made by the Secretary under the FA law to discharge some or all of that liability.

Approved providers and individuals need to agree, under a CWA, on the details of the sessions of care the individual will be liable to pay for, including the length of the sessions. Depending on charging practices of approved providers, individuals may be charged for a full session of care even if their child does not attend the whole session.

Previous legislated requirements specifying minimum hours of care provided per day have been removed to allow approved child care services (1.1.A.90) to offer more flexible care arrangements to meet the needs of families, as well as their business.

Example: An OSHC service offers a session of care from 3.00 pm to 6.00 pm, for which it charges parents a flat rate of $25 per session. A child attends care from 3:00 pm until 5:00 pm. Although the child has attended 2 hours of care, the parent has a genuine liability for 3 hours of care and their CCS entitlement (1.1.E.30) will be calculated for 3 hours.

Act reference: FAAct section 9 Session of care

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