Upon enrolling your child you will be provided with information outlining the fee structure for our service and the payment options available to you. Information regarding the CCS (Child Care Subsidy) for your child can be found at https://www.education.gov.au/earlychildhood-and-child-care your account with the Department of Human Services and the acquirement of a family and individual child/rens Customer Reference number will need to be activated and supplied to the Centre prior to your child beginning care. Please contact the Department of Human Services Office in your local area or go online at http://www. humanservices.gov.au/ Full fees are payable until the CCS confirmation is received by the centre.
All families will be charged a non-refundable Enrolment Fee of $175 per child in the long day care, and $120 for outside school hrs care upon initial enrolment. This enrolment fee entitles you to receive a centre t-shirt, wet bag,and hat for your child. A full information package will be emailed out detailing the centre’s policies, procedures and frequently asked question.
A bond of $475 will also be payable on enrolment if you secure a permanent booking. This bond will be refunded 15 days after your child’s last day. Should you have any outstanding fees, the bond money will be used to finalise your account.
A bond is not required if you attend on a casual basis. However, casual session require payment to be received prior to the day of care or on the day the care is booked. If you do choose to change your enrolment status from a casual booking to permanent booking you will be required to pay the full $475 bond to secure the booking.
It is the policy of Berry Springs Childcare that all family accounts must remain two weeks in advance at all times. Berry Springs Childcare only accepts payments electronically via Variable PayWay Direct Debit Authority. The Variable PayWay system is in place to ensure accounts are kept two weeks in advanced. All accounts must be aware that fees will be deducted on a weekly basis each Monday. The amount deducted will depend on your Usage and Current CCS Usage. If you are having financial difficulty paying your fees, please contact the Director or Business Manager to arrange a payment plan.
A PayWay authority form will be provided to you during enrolment and forms are available from the office to make changes if required. If at any time you need information regarding your account, please speak to the Admin Officer or Director.
The purpose of the Variable Payway Direct Debit system is to keep all accounts up-to-date and 2 weeks in advance as per the fee policy states. It also assists families to remain ahead in their payments and from falling behind in their fees. Every Friday all accounts will receive a statement via email and the outstanding amount will then be deducted the following Monday.
If your PayWay payments are processed and they decline, you will receive a phone call from our Admin Officer asking you to rectify this immediately . Please note that if the payment declines, the bank will automatically re-attempt to process this payment. Any costs associated with this are at the expense of the families. If your account fees are outstanding for a period of 2 weeks, your booking will be cancelled immediately. If the outstanding balance of your account is not paid, your information will be passed to a debt collection agency, which will be at the expense of the families.
All families are eligible for 42 days of allowable absences and non-attendance caused by holiday or illness (no medical certificate) per financial year. Once the 42 days allowable have occurred in a financial year, Child Care Subsidy (CCS) and Additional Child Care Subsidy (ACCS) can only be paid with a valid reason as outlines in the ‘Australian Government, Department of Education and Training Child Care Provider Handbook’ alternatively after the 42 days of non-attendance families would not be entitled to receive the CCS and full fees will be charged for any absence.
The centre is not open for care on Public Holidays. Families with a child/ren who have a regular routine booking with a Complying Written Agreement (CWA) will be charged normal fees for these days. This is in line with best practice for childcare centres across Australia. These days will be marked as an absent day.
Families are advised that with all holidays from the centre the fees remain payable for the regular routine bookings with the Complying Written Agreement (CWA). If going on private holiday/annual leave, we ask that you notify the Centre by filling out the holiday form to notify the centre of your holiday or absence at least 2 weeks prior to your leave. The centre does offer a holiday discount fee of 30% off the gap fees for holiday periods of 3 weeks or more. To be eligible for the holiday discount there are some conditions, family accounts must be paid in full 2 weeks in advance, the centre must have on file a PayWay or Variable PayWay form and the centre must be notified in writing using the Holiday Leave Form of the dates of holiday/ absence. No discounts will be applied to family accounts after the holiday has been taken without a completed holiday form completed prior and accounts with an outstanding amount.
Failure to advise the centre that you will be on holiday may indicate that you have left the centre and your child’s place will be offered to another family and you may not be eligible for holiday discount for children for a period of 3 weeks.
Families are advised that casual bookings must be paid in advance or on the day that you drop off your child. To confirm a casual booking the centre must have a Variable PayWay form on file. If you have booked casual days and your child is absent, full fees will apply unless you have cancelled the booking giving a minimum of 48 hours’ notice in writing.
Casual bookings in the Long Day Care service will be based on availability on a daily basis. However, in the Before and After School Care, we can accommodate one month of casual bookings in advance.
If a child is enrolled in the centre with a routine booking for Preschool days and has a Complying Written Agreement (CWA) than any days of non-attendance in the school holidays and pupil free days will be marked as absent and fees will be charged at their normal preschool rate:
| Room | Permanent | Casual | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Pre-school Drop off and pick up |
$ 100 | n/a | ||
| Preschool drop off ONLY |
$ 45 | n/a | ||
| Preschool pick up ONLY |
$ 70 | n/a |
If the child attends the Centre on School holidays and any pupil free days their daily booking fees will be amended to be charged the full rate ($130) or half day rate ($100). As with regular bookings, families are eligible to claim for the 42 days absence per financial year. Families are also able to request holiday leave as outlined above.
If a child’s parents are separated and both individuals are liable for part of the cost of their child’s fees, then each Parent/Guardian will be required to make their own claim for Child Care Subsidy to Centrelink. The Centre will support the family by allowing the child to have multiple family accounts. In this circumstance the parents will both need to agree to their own Complying Written Agreement (CWA) and confirm their enrolment online.
Each Parent will be assessed separately for their entitlements based on their income and activity. In all circumstances including shared care arrangement the child is allocated up to 42 days of allowable absences per financial year, this is calculated as a child not based on the individual parent’s accounts.
A late fee will be charged if your child is left at the centre after their contracted hours of care or after the closing of business. There is a five (5) minute grace period, after which a late fee will be charged at $3.00 per minute per child after the grace period and the late fee is not subject to any Child Care Subsidy. If your child is continually left at the centre after the contracted hours of care or outside the operating hours, a meeting will be arranged with the Director to discuss the issue.
Families who attend the centre who have a regular routine booking with the Complying Written Agreement (CWA) are required to notify the centre and advise of their last day of attendance. A full 4 weeks’ notice in writing must be given to cancel any permanent bookings.
As per the ‘Australian Government, Department of Education and Training Child Care Provider Handbook’ a child must attend on their last booked day at the Centre and be signed in by a parent or guardian. If a child does not physically attend on their last day booked, then the Child Care Subsidy will not be paid for any absences submitted after the child last attended day at the centre and full fees will apply to these days.
Families who attend the centre who have a regular routine booking with the Complying Written Agreement (CWA) are required to notify the centre and advise of any changes to their bookings. A full 4 weeks’ notice in writing must be given to cancel any permanent bookings.
Families are reminded that their accounts are required to be two week in advance at all times. Families will receive a phone call or email if payments decline. If Declined payments are not amended within that week then a $30 late fee will apply. Arrears that are not amended within that week will receive a follow up notification before losing their bookings for the following week and their children will be marked as Absent. Families will receive a follow up notification one week following if the account remains in arrears with a second overdue letter. A Third and final letter will be issued to families if the account remains unpaid, and failure to pay outstanding balance within 14 days upon receiving the final reminder will result in the Director passing the information onto a debt collection agency and Berry Springs Childcare may choose to cancel the child’s enrolment. Bond will be applied for recovery of fees. If no bond has been paid, any recovery fee from the debt collection agency will be passed on to the family.
Weekly discounted rate is applicable to permanent full-time families (5 days/week). Accounts must be up to date to be eligible for the centre to apply the weekly discounted rate.
Example: full day care rate $130 x 5 days = $650 is total weekly care – 5% discount, then
less CCS depending on your childcare subsidy percentage.
The spot is first come first serve. Families must still pay the ‘gap’ fee to the Service if their child is unable to attend. Bookings are noncancellable. Families are given one chance to change booked days to another date provided a spot is available in our system. The centre must be notified in writing 48 hours before the change will commence.
Water play activity during Vacation Care has higher fee due to the ratio being lower than usual, and employ additional staff to care for the children during this high risk activity. Water play fee will always be reflected in the Permission Form.
Fees are subject to change at any time provided a minimum of four weeks written notice is given to all families
Linked Documents: Centre handbook
Centre enrolment booklet
Enrolment Policy
Payway direct debit authority form
Review Schedule: Annually from April 2027
Compiled: April 2026
Reviewed: April 2026
Next review: As per Policy Review Timeline
