Apply

The development of a Strategic Inclusion Plan (SIP) is the first step to accessing support from the ISP, including funding through the Inclusion Development Fund (IDF). Prior to applying for the FDC Top Up funding, the FDC service must complete a SIP in collaboration with the IA.

If through the development of a SIP, it can be demonstrated that including a child with a disability with ongoing high support needs has a significant impact on the FDC educator, and results in the educator being unable to enrol the maximum number of children allowed under the National law, the SIP will support the FDC Service’s application for FDC Top Up funding.

FDC Services should complete the following sections of the SIP:

• Care Environment – this is the FDC educator’s care environment
• Inclusion Profile
• Educator Profile
• Barriers and Strategies
• Children – Add children requiring inclusion assistance

To apply for the FDC Top Up, all children requiring inclusion assistance will be required to have :

• A signed Family Consent Form (Permission to Share Personal Information for the purposes of the Inclusion Support Programme); and
• Documentary evidence that confirms a diagnosed disability, or a current and ongoing assessment for disability. These documents must be attached under the attachments section of 'Children' in the SIP.

An application for the FDC Top Up will not be able to be submitted by a service where they do not have an inclusion strategy that identifies IDF funding in the Barriers and Strategies of their SIP.

Step 1: Create an Inclusion Support Case on the portal

Step 2: Complete the Children and Enrolments page

Select which child (or children) from the SIP should be associated to the IS Case. The service will be required to complete the care week profile for each child associated to the IS Case.

Step 3: Complete the Care Environment page

Complete information about the FDC Educator’s Care Environment and the Daily profile to provide specific information about the care environment. In the Daily Profile the following must be indicated:

• Total number of children in the care environment (including the educator’s own children in the care environment younger than 13 years of age)
• The number of children eligible for the IDF in the care environment
• Total number of educators in the care environment (This is always 1 for FDC)
• Number of additional educators requested – that is, the number of educators to be subsidised (This does not apply to FDC Top Up and should be entered as zero).
• Number of children 0 to 2 years in the environment
• Number of children 2 to 3 years in the environment
• Number of children 3 years to preschool age in the environment
• Number of children over preschool age in the environment

Step 4: Complete the Care Week Profile page

The Care Week Profile provides information about the sessions of care for all eligible children associated to the IS Case. The service must add a session of care for each day the eligible child is enrolled, which indicates:

• The normal in and out time
• Whether the child’s attendance varies each week
  • No – the child attends this session each week
  • Other – the child has an irregular pattern of attendance
  • Rostered care – the child’s attendance depends on parents roster
  • Week On/Week Off – the child attends this session each fortnight
• How many hours of FDC Top Up is requested from the IDF Subsidy for this session

Sessions in the care week profile can be copied to allow the service to update one or more field to create all sessions for the child (or children) associated to the IS Case.

Step 5: Complete the Day Summary page

The Day Summary provides an overview of the support requested each day for all eligible children. It provides the sum of the requested hours each week, for each payment type. The service must update or confirm the hours requested each day. FDC Services are eligible to apply for one payment per FDC educator.

Step 6: Authorised Personnel

The authorised personnel is the person who can be contacted at the FDC service regarding the IS Case. More than one authorised personnel can be added to the case.

Step 7: Notes

The notes page allows general notes to be added about the IS Case by the service, IA and IDF Manager. Notes are not mandatory, however they can assist communication between the service, IA and IDF Manager.

Endorsement

The IA must endorse the IS Case before submitting it to the IDF Manager for assessment. Before endorsing the IS Case, the IA must review the content of the IS Case. The endorsement and notes from the IA will be considered as part of the IDF Manager’s assessment of the IS Case.

The IDF Manager will assess the information in the IS Case against the eligibility requirements of the guidelines to determine the funding support required by the service. Applications for the Family Day Care (FDC) Top Up are typically processed and the service notified of the outcome within 15 business days.

If funding is approved

The FDC 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 FDC 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.