Apply

Centre based services eligible to apply for Inclusion Development Fund (IDF) Subsidy for an Additional Educator are services that have been approved for the provision of the Child Care Subsidy (CCS). Services apply for funding for an Additional Educator via the online Inclusion Support Portal (IS Portal). Approved services include:

• Centre-Based Day Care
• Long Day Care
• Occasional Care
• Outside School Hours Care including before, after and vacation care

Individual care environments, within a service, can apply to access IDF Subsidy for an Additional Educator.

When apply for IDF Subsidy for an Additional Educator, services are required to:

• Develop a Strategic Inclusion Plan (SIP), in collaboration with their Inclusion Professional (IP), to document their inclusion planning.
• Add the child with additional and high ongoing support needs to the IS Portal,
• Create an Inclusion Support (IS) Case,
• Link the child to the IS Case, and
  
• Complete the IS Case before submitting it for approval.

Step 1: Develop a SIP

The service engages in inclusion planning, which includes identifying the barriers to inclusion within the care environment and the strategies and actions the service and educators will implement to address the barriers. If the development of a SIP identifies barriers to inclusion for which an increased educator to child ratio is required to address the barriers, the service may make an application for the IDF Subsidy for an Additional Educator.

Step 2: Add children with additional needs to the IS Portal

This involves identifying the children with additional needs and ongoing high support needs who will be included in the application.

Step 3: Generate an Inclusion Support Case (IS Case) on the IS Portal

In the Care Week Profile, the service provides information about the sessions of care for all eligible children associated with the IS Case.

Step 8: Review and update, if required, Authorised Personnel

Authorised personnel are the people who the service has approved can be contacted about the IS Case. View and update as required.

Step 9: Add Notes (optional)

General notes about the IS Case by can be added by the service, Inclusion Agency (IA) and Inclusion Development Fund Manager (IDFM). Notes are not mandatory; however, they can assist with communicating information not included elsewhere on the IS Case.

Step 10: Agree and the Submit Case

The service must submit the Case to the IA for endorsement. Before endorsing the IS Case, the Inclusion Agency must review the content of the Case. Once endorsed/not endorsed the Inclusion Agency submits the case to the IDFM for assessment. The endorsement and notes from the IA will be considered as part of the IDFM's assessment of the application.

Services are required to add children with additional and ongoing high support needs to the IS Portal when they are applying to access IDF for an Additional Educator.

When adding children with additional and ongoing high support needs, services must ensure that:

• The Child has been enrolled in the service’s Child Care Subsidy System (CCSS) software

Once a child has been added to the IS Portal, services are required to link the child to the IS Case.

Parent or Guardian Permission

Prior to the service uploading any information about a child to the IS Case, they must obtain parent or guardian written consent authorising the sharing of personal information about the child.

Parents or guardians are require to complete a Permission to Share Personal Information for the purposes of the Inclusion Support Program Form.

• It is essential that the service name documented on this form is written exactly the same as the name the service is known by in the Child Care Subsidy System (CCSS).
• The child’s parent/guardian has signed the form.
• This is a two page document. Both pages must be uploaded together. Pages cannot be uploaded singularly.

Documentary Evidence

To apply for the subsidy for an Additional Educator, all children will be required to have documentary evidence, dated within 12 months, that confirms the child has additional and ongoing high support needs This may include children with a diagnosed disability (including developmental delay), or a current and ongoing assessment for disability, or other additional needs (under 6 years of age). Documentary evidence may include (but is not limited to):

• The child’s health care card stating the disability code (CD)
• Evidence to show the child is a current National Disability Insurance Scheme (NDIS) participant under Section 28 of the NDIS Act 2013
• Diagnosis by a qualified medical practitioner or registered psychologist
• A report or supporting documentation signed by an allied health professional, registered nurse or nurse practitioner, Maternal and Child Health nurse, social worker/family counsellor of the current and ongoing assessment of a child
• Supporting documentation, such as a diagnostic report, signed by a qualified medical/health practitioner, registered psychologist, or social worker

Documentation that supports permanent disability, as assessed by the IDF Manager, will not be required to be submitted with future applications by the same service.

Please refer to the Documentary Evidence Information Sheet for further information.

Consent to Access Prior Documentary Evidence

The IS Portal may already hold documentary evidence, uploaded by another ECEC service, for this child. To gain visibility of these, the parent or guardian must provide written consent authorising your service to access this information. If permission is not given, the service can still proceed with the application.

The IDF Manager will assess the service’s application for funding against the eligibility requirements set out in the ISP Guidelines an notify the service of the outcome of the application. The IDF Manager will consider the following in their assessment:

• The details of the barriers to inclusion presented in the care environment, identified through the service’s Strategic Inclusion Plan (SIP)
• The additional and ongoing high support needs of the child (or children)
• The degree to which an Additional Educator is the most appropriate solution to the identified inclusion barriers
• The child is included in a care environment with typically developing peers
• The educator to child ratio in the care environment for which the service is seeking an Additional Educator - and how it relates to the ratios recommended under the National Quality Framework for that age group. To receive IDF Subsidy a service must meet the educator to child ratios as outlined in the National Regulations (or relevant state or territory legislation) within the particular care environment where IDF support is requested, before the funding of an additional educator will be considered
• How the increased educator to child ratio will assist educators to implement strategies to address inclusion barriers and facilitate inclusion of all children
• The request for IDF Subsidy is in line with the purposes of this funding stream and does not include any non-approved purposes
• Whether the application has been endorsed by the IA
• Any other inclusion support provided to the service for the same care environment.

The IDF Manager will assess the information in the IS Case and SIP, including the relevant Inclusion Profile and Barriers and Strategies associated with the care environment to determine the funding support required by the service. The service will be advised of the outcome, by the IDF Manager, within 15 business days.

If funding is approved

The service will receive an email with an Approval Letter attached, providing the details of their approved IS Case. This will be sent to the Service Provider email address listed on the SIP.

If funding is not approved

The service will receive an email with an Application Declined letter attached. This will be sent to the Service Provider email address listed on the SIP.