Gap fee waiving and additional allowable absences are now available to all services in the Australian Capital Territory until the territory lifts restrictions around access to child care.
This is currently expected to be 25 October 2021.
Details about restrictions in the ACT are available on the ACT Government website.
Gap fee waiving
Early learning services in the ACT can waive the gap fee for families who keep their children at home until 25 October 2021. This includes Centre Based Day Care, Family Day Care and In Home Care.
Outside School Hours Care (OSHC) services can do so until 1 November 2021. This is to coincide with when the ACT Government allows all primary school-aged children to return to face-to-face teaching.
Gap fee waiving is a business decision for services. However, if your service is getting business continuity payments from us, you must waive gap fees.
Services that choose to waive gap fees will continue to receive the Child Care Subsidy.
Gap fee waiving helps parents keep their children enrolled without having to pay for a service they are not using.
Additional allowable absences
Families using early learning services in the ACT can continue to access additional allowable absences until 25 October 2021. This includes Centre Based Day Care, Family Day Care and In Home Care.
For OSHC services, this date is 1 November 2021 to coincide with when the ACT Government allows all primary school aged children to return to face-to-face teaching.
This means families will not use up their 42 allowable absences.
Updates to our website
Please visit the COVID-19 information for the early childhood education and care sector page for the latest updates. We are in the process of updating our website to reflect this and other important information about COVID-19 support in your region.