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Important Notice

The IDFM Office will close for phone and email queries at 1pm on Monday 23 December 2024 and reopen at 9am on Thursday 2 January 2025. The IDFM team will continue to assess applications during this period. All enquiries received during this period will be responded to as soon as possible when the IDFM Office reopens.


Great news – Improvements to the IS Portal & New Resource for Services!

A quick guide and full guide are available to support you to navigate the exciting changes to the Strategic Inclusion Plan on the IS Portal.

There is a Checklist to help services to ensure your IDF Subsidy for an Additional Educator application is complete and accurate, prior to submission to your IP for endorsement.


Current application processing timeframes for IDF Subsidy for an Additional Educator:

The demand for support through the Inclusion Support Program has resulted in a high volume of applications being submitted for IDF Subsidy for an Additional Educator. Applications are being assessed as efficiently as possible, but unfortunately this is currently not within the usual timeframes. Thank you for your patience at this time.

Please go to the Important Information page for further information and updates.


Services receive payment for Immediate/Time Limited Support by submitting claims for the number of hours the Additional Educator was employed up to the maximum weekly approved hours on the approved IS Case. When submitting claims, services are required to:

  • Identify the Additional Educator
  • Outline the hours the Additional Educator attended the care environment
  • Provide details of the eligible child (or children) in the care environment, including their enrolment and attendance information.

For additional information please refer to the Claiming IDF Subsidy Fact Sheet.

Compliance with the 60 day rule

The service must submit claims within 60 days of the fortnight the eligible child or children listed on the approved IS Case attended the service. If a service does not submit any claims for more than 60 days during the approval period, the IS Case will automatically be inactivated and new claims cannot be submitted. Cases can be reactivated at the agreement of the IDF Manager, and once reactivated, new claims must be submitted according to the 60 day rule. If a service requires their case to be reactivated, they should contact the IDF Manager.

Documentary Evidence

The service must retain relevant evidence of the eligible child/children on the IS Case and the Additional Educator. This may include:

  • Evidence of the child/children’s attendance, such as sign in and sign out sheet with parent signature
  • Additional educator attendance, such as time sheets signed by the Additional Educator.

Payment of the Immediate/Time Limited Support

The Immediate/Time Limited Support is paid directly to the service, from the Department, to the same payee details it has nominated to receive its Child Care Subsidy payments on behalf of families. Following a successfully executed claim, the service will typically receive payment within 4-6 business days.