Payment and collection of fees policy

At enrolment, families will nominate one person as the account holder. This can be a parent or other adult who is responsible for the care of the child.

The account holder is responsible for paying fees. They will be identified as ‘Guardian One’ on the enrolment acceptance form in Kidsoft. The account holder should also be the person claiming CCS/ACCS, if applicable.

Families are asked to formally accept an enrolment arrangement with Early Learning Victoria through Kidsoft.

This is required under Family Assistance Law. The enrolment arrangement will be either:

• a Complying Written Arrangement, for enrolments where families wish to claim CCS/ACCS. This agreement includes details of the care to be provided and fees to be charged
• an arrangement with an organisation, for enrolments where a third-party organisation (such as an employer) will be responsible for paying childcare fees on behalf of the child.

Once a family has accepted the enrolment arrangement, Eary Learning Victoria submits an enrolment notice to Services Australia. This includes details of the enrolment arrangement.

Centrelink then notifies the family and asks them to confirm the details on the enrolment notice via their Centrelink account. Once confirmed, Centrelink will calculate CCS/ACCS eligibility and can begin making payments to Early Learning Victoria for the enrolled child or children.

By default, children are formally enrolled in a standard 11-hour session for each day that they are booked to attend. (They do not have to attend all these hours.)

A 10-hour session is available only for children enrolled full-time. This aligns with the CCS fortnightly cap of 100 hours.

A 9-hour session is available for children eligible for 72 hours of CCS per fortnight and who are enrolling for 4 days per week.

Parents or carers employed by Early Learning Victoria can apply for a staff discount of 50% off the daily fee.

For centre staff employed at the centre that their child is attending, the discount is applied after CCS (and Free Kinder, if applicable). For all other Early Learning Victoria staff, the discount is applied before CCS, in line with CCS rules.

The staff discount does not apply to other fee types (such as late collection fees).

Free Kinder is a Victorian Government initiative. It provides funding to kindergarten and long day care services to deliver high-quality kindergarten programs in the two years before children start school.

Some children at Early Learning Victoria will be enrolled in an ‘integrated’ kindergarten program. This means a kindergarten program plus long day care. For these children:

• Families are charged standard daily fees, but the total out-of-pocket cost is reduced by Free Kinder, and (if eligible) by CCS/ACCS.
• Early Learning Victoria applies the Free Kinder fee offset each fortnight, starting in mid-March of each calendar year and continuing until mid-December.
• The Free Kinder fee reduction is applied after CCS. It is marked clearly as ‘Victorian Government Free Kinder offset’ on families’ account statements.

To be eligible for Free Kinder, families must complete the ‘Funded kindergarten place declaration form’. On this, they nominate their Early Learning Victoria centre as the service where they would like their child to complete a funded kindergarten program. Families can do this at the time of enrolment. This allows Early Learning Victoria to claim the Free Kinder subsidy.

‘Sessional’ kindergarten is a stand-alone kindergarten program with shorter, fixed hours.

There are no daily fees for sessional kindergarten programs at Early Learning Victoria centres (where offered). Free Kinder funding covers the costs for families. (This applies only to sessional kindergarten days and hours during school terms.)

Families with children in a sessional kindergarten program may still have certain fees to pay. These are:

• standard daily fees (minus any subsidies) for casual long day care for days outside the sessional kindergarten program (for example, during school holidays)
• late collection fees, if they collect their child after the pick-up time for the sessional kindergarten program
• fees for any extra goods or services (e.g. optional ELV-branded sun hats).

There are no application fees, enrolment fees or bonds for families enrolling at an Early Learning Victoria centre.

This is to promote access to Early Learning Victoria centres, including by families experiencing disadvantage and vulnerability.

It also avoids putting a financial burden on families before a service has been provided.

Children are offered at least 2 orientation sessions before they officially start at an Early Learning Victoria centre.

Families are encouraged to use these sessions, as they promote a smooth transition from home to the centre. Children and families can spend some relaxed time at the service, meeting educators and getting to know the daily routines.

During an orientation session, a parent or carer must remain at the centre. This means Early Learning Victoria is not required to count the child in ‘educator-to-child ratios’. (This is the required number of educators working directly with children. The number of educators depends on the number of children in attendance, and their ages.)

From the child’s official start date, families will be charged standard daily fees for their child’s attendance. They will be charged even if they choose to stay at the centre for part or all of the day. This allows us to cover the cost of educating and caring for children after orientation is complete.

Families are encouraged to talk to their centre director and room staff if they have any concerns about their child’s settling-in after orientation.

Families are billed fortnightly, in line with the CCS fortnight. Families are billed on Thursday of CCS Week 1 for all bookings in that week and the following week – that is, 1.5 weeks in advance. (The exception is if a family has an individual payment plan.)

Direct debit from a nominated bank account is the default method of payment. This meets the Family Assistance Law requirement that families pay fees using electronic methods.

Families give their direct debit bank account details and authorisation at enrolment. Fees are to be debited from this account. Families must notify the centre about any changes to their bank details.

Direct debit from a credit card is not currently available as a payment method.

Eary Learning Victoria will pay the transaction fee of $0.79 for each direct debit payment made by families from their nominated bank account. The direct debit transaction will appear on a family’s bank statement with the reference ‘ELV80xx Fee’, where ‘xx’ is a code that refers to the specific Early Learning Victoria centre.

Each fortnight, Early Learning Victoria sends families a customer account statement through Kidsoft. This meets the requirements of the Statement of Entitlement under Family Assistance Law.

The statement includes details of:

• sessions of care provided, with daily and weekly totals
• any ‘allowable absences’. These are days when Early Learning Victoria is taken to have provided a session of care to a child while the child was absent that are within the 42 allowable days per financial year
• any ‘additional absences’. These are days when Early Learning Victoria is taken to have provided a session of care to a child while the child was absent that are beyond the 42 allowable days per financial year, and to which particular circumstances apply
• the hourly session fee charged for each session of care
• daily and weekly totals of all fees charged by Early Learning Victoria for care provided during the statement period
• details of any fee discounts or reductions (CCS, ACCS, staff discount and Free Kinder are separately identified and itemised)
• the ‘gap fee’ charged to families
• any additional fees, such as late collection fees.

The customer account statement will be issued 2 days before the direct debit transaction is made. This means families can:

• make sure they have enough money in their nominated bank account
• ask their centre director any questions about the statement or the amount to be paid.

Families should contact their centre director if they won’t be able to meet their next direct debit payment. Early Learning Victoria can arrange for the family to make either a one-off payment via the Kidsoft parent portal, or set up a payment plan that is manageable for the family.

Families are not charged daily fees for booked days when the centre is closed to children. These days include:

• public holidays
• December to January shutdown days
• when the centre must close for one or more days (for example, on bushfire days)
• all staff professional development days.

Early Learning Victoria will notify families at the beginning of each calendar year about their centre’s operating days and times, including any planned closures.

Families will be given at least 2 weeks’ notice of a change to operating days and times and closure days, unless the change is due to an emergency. Families will be notified of emergency changes to operating days and times as soon as practicable.

Families are charged daily fees for booked days when the centre is operating but their child is absent for any reason. This includes illness, medical appointments and family holidays. It also includes days when a child is not allowed to attend (e.g. because their immunisations are not up to date).

Absences cannot be ‘swapped for’ or ‘made up on’ an alternative day. For example, if a child is absent on a regular booked Thursday, they will still be charged for that day and cannot ‘swap’ the day for Friday. The exceptions are:

• if the family has given at least two weeks’ notice of a permanent change to their child’s regular booked days (e.g. they no longer require Wednesdays)
• if the child’s enrolment at the centre has ceased.

These days will then be made available as ongoing bookings to existing and waitlisted families. This is in line with the ‘priority of access’ policy outlined in the Enrolment and orientation policy.

Families may request to book additional days as casual bookings. They can do this by asking their centre director, assistant director or administration officer. Casual days are not always available – they depend on existing bookings and staff availability and rosters.

Casual days are charged at the standard daily rate for that centre and billed as part of normal fortnightly billing.

Families must collect their child before the required pick-up time. The pick-up time is:

• the closing time for that centre, or
• when the sessional kindergarten ends (for children enrolled in this program).

Each centre publishes its operating hours and sessional kindergarten times (where offered). These are also published on the Early Learning Victoria website.

Late collection of children affects centre staff. It can force staff to work unplanned overtime, making it hard for them to meet family or personal commitments. Early Learning Victoria charges a late collection fee to cover additional wages, discourage late collection of children and respect staff members’ time.

A late collection fee is payable if a child is collected from a centre after pick-up time.

If the child is collected within 15 minutes of pick-up time, the late collection fee payable is $15.

If the child is collected more than 15 minutes after pick-up time, the late fee is $1 for every minute between pick-up time and the time the child is collected.

Some Early Learning Victoria centres may offer families items or services, such as ELV-branded shirts or hats, or excursions or incursions.

Early Learning Victoria and centre directors decide whether to charge a fee for these. However, they are not compulsory – a family can choose whether they buy these goods or services.

For example, a family could decide that their child will not attend an excursion or incursion (see the Excursions, incursions and regular outings policy).

Centre directors work with families to help them understand the fee policy. They will respectfully seek information about any hardship or other circumstances (such as illness or unemployment) that could affect:

• whether families can pay their fees in full and on time
• whether families can collect their child by pick-up time.

Families having financial difficulties should contact their centre director as soon as possible to discuss payment arrangements.

If a direct debit payment from a family’s bank account fails (or ‘bounces’):

• Early Learning Victoria will pay the $4 failed payment (dishonour) fee. This is the fee charged by iDebitPro, the secure payment gateway, for each failed direct debit payment
• the centre director (or a delegate) will email the family about the missed payment. They will ask the family to pay within 1 week, by making a manual payment through the Kidsoft parent portal
• if the family is having financial difficulties, the centre director (or delegate) will encourage them to have a chat with them about ways to pay.

If a family has not paid after 2 weeks (from the date of the failed payment), the centre director (or a delegate) will:

• send another reminder email to the family, asking for payment as soon as possible
• contact the family to work out whether additional support or a payment plan is needed to bring the account up to date.

If fees are unpaid for 2 billing periods (4 weeks), the centre director should tell their area manager.

The area manager can then contact the family to discuss the situation and make alternative payment arrangements.

If unable to resolve the issue, the area manager will ask the Director of Early Learning to review the situation and give their advice.

If a family is experiencing hardship, the centre director and area manager can speak with them about different ways to pay.

A good example is a payment plan. This is a written agreement describing how outstanding fees will be paid over a specified time. The plan includes key information such as the payment amount, payment due dates, and steps if the terms in the plan are not met. Payment plans must be signed by the child’s parent or carer and by the centre director.

If fees are unpaid for 5 weeks or more, and the centre director and area manager have not been able to work out alternative arrangements, the child’s enrolment may be suspended. The Director of Early Learning (and if needed, the ELV CEO) will then review the case.

During a suspension:

• the child will not be able to attend the centre
• booked days will be made available to other families for casual bookings
• the centre director (helped by the area manager) will continue to work with the family. If a family has experienced job loss, for example, the centre director may guide the family to apply for ACCS or place the child on the waitlist until the parent or carer is re-employed and able to pay for child care.

If a suitable arrangement cannot be reached, the child’s enrolment will be ended. This must be signed off by the Early Learning Victoria ‘person with management or control’ (PMC) (or their delegate). Booked days will be made available to other families at the centre and to those on the waitlist.

Note that:

• Ending an enrolment is a last resort. Early Learning Victoria aims to support access by all, including families and children experiencing vulnerability and disadvantage.
• We may need to end an enrolment if there is no practical way forward. This is fair to other families on the waitlist who need child care and also helps ensure Early Learning Victoria services have enough funds to keep operating.

Early Learning Victoria centre staff need to refer any queries from families about fee payment policy, procedures or processes to the centre’s director, assistant director or administration officer.

Centre directors must:

• ensure they understand and can explain all Early Learning Victoria fee and payment information
• notify families of any changes to the fee schedule, fees policy, processes or procedures at least 14 days before the change starts
• contact Early Learning Victoria central office with any questions
• explain to families that their child must attend the first booked day and last booked day of enrolment (unless an allowable reason applies under Family Assistance Law) if they wish to claim CCS/ACCS and avoid being charged full fees for absences
• respond to questions from families about the fee policy and its processes and procedures
• ensure all children are correctly signed in and out (or else marked absent) for all booked sessions on Kidsoft. This means Kidsoft can generate and submit session reports so CCS can be paid
• help a family update their personal or bank details on Kidsoft to ensure accurate billing, if requested
• review a family’s fee statement in Kidsoft and help them understand the fees billed, if requested
• help families find further information about relevant fees and subsidies (e.g. on ACCS eligibility)
• contact Early Learning Victoria central office on a family’s behalf to arrange an alternative payment option, if requested, then follow up to ensure this is set up correctly
• contact Early Learning Victoria central office on a family’s behalf if there appear to be errors or inconsistencies in a fee statement or billing amount that the centre director is unable to explain or fix via Kidsoft.

Centre directors can recommend that fees are waived or refunded. This can be if families are in temporary financial hardship due to:

• unexpected loss of employment (not including resignation or retirement)
• loss of income or business failure due to circumstances outside the family’s control
• severe damage to or destruction of the family’s home.

Centre directors may also take into account compassionate circumstances including:

• death of a partner or child
• leaving home due to experiencing family violence.

Centre directors can also recommend a fee refund if a family’s account is in credit due to adjustments in CCS.

Before recommending a waiver or refund, centre directors should consider whether the family might be eligible for ACCS. If appropriate, they can then support the family to apply for this subsidy. (Or, they can apply for the child wellbeing ACCS on the family’s behalf, if they believe the child is at risk of serious abuse or neglect.)

If recommending waivers or refunds, centre directors must ensure that they:

• discuss the situation with their area manager
• complete the ‘Recommendation to credit fees’ form (available from the staff intranet) for their area manager to review and approve.

The area manager must then submit the request to the Director of Early Learning for review and approval.

Staff members in Early Learning Victoria central are responsible for:

• applying staff discounts in Kidsoft, on request by centre directors and after verifying that the child’s guardian is employed at the Early Learning Victoria centre where the child is enrolling
• applying fee adjustments in Kidsoft after these have been approved, including fee waivers, refunds and debt write-offs.

Staff members in the department’s Financial Accounting and Reporting (FAR) Team are responsible for:

• processing refunds to a family’s bank account, once these have been approved. They then notify the ELV central team, area manager and centre director that the refund has been processed
• applying waivers or refunds that have been recommended by a centre director, nominated supervisor or person in day-to-day charge and approved by the PMC.

The FAR team might notice repeated failed payments or other potential debt management issues. While it is not their responsibility to monitor failed payments, the FAR team may flag these issues with Early Learning Victoria to ensure that any concerns are being addressed.

In this case, the FAR team should:

• start by raising the issue with the centre director, copying in the area manager
• escalate their concerns with the area manager if not addressed within 2 weeks.

The approved provider or PMC is responsible for reviewing and updating the schedule of fees for all Early Learning Victoria centres annually. This is in line with Victorian Government fee settings, as published via Ministerial Order.

They (or their delegate) must also:

• notify Early Learning Victoria centres of any upcoming changes to the fee schedule or to fees policy, processes and procedures, at least 4 weeks before changes start
• approve the waiver or refunding of fees, where the waiver or refund has been recommended by a centre director and approved by the area manager.

Where a family has not paid fees owing for more than 5 weeks, and the centre director (assisted by the area manager) has been unable to establish alternative payment arrangements, the approved provider or PMC will undertake work to better understand the issue. This means reviewing documentation provided by the centre director and area manager about:

• the family’s circumstances and reasons for non-payment
• actions to date in developing or exploring alternative payment arrangements
• whether the family’s financial and personal circumstances are likely to allow for continued enrolment and payment.

If there is not enough evidence that the family will be able to continue to pay, the approved provider or PMC (or their delegate) may:

• approve ending the child’s enrolment
• arrange for the centre and family to be formally told of this decision
• determine how much of the debt should be collected or written off
• ask the centre director and area manager to assist in attempting to collect the debt (if appropriate) and/or submit a recommendation to the FAR team for review and approval of debt write-off.