Applying Fee Discounts
Overview
There are several different ways and methods of applying discounts to families who are paying fees. In some situations, families can be eligible to receive multiple discounts.
Terminology
- CCS (Child Care Subsidy) - credits that eligible families receive from the Government
- Gap Fee - refers to the difference between the full fee and the CCS that the family is required to pay
- TPP (third-party payments) - when another entity is contributing towards the fee payments
- Prescribed third-party payments
- other third-party payments
Fee Discounts
Discounted fees for families applied by the service (including 'holiday' rates) can be set up in OWNA as a custom rate in the Fees Matrix. When applying discounts to families (not to be confused with Staff Discounts), you must report the lower (discounted) fee to CCS to calculate the family's entitlements based on the lower amount. Applying discounts to the family gap can put you in breach of the Family Assistance Law.
Resources:
Kindy Funding
State and Territory Governments may contribute to some or all of a family's gap fee with no impact on CCS in some circumstances. This includes kindy funding schemes in ACT, NSW, VIC, and QLD. This means that the credits can be applied to families' gaps while still reporting the full fee to CCS. (Additional reporting on how credits are being applied may be required by the governing body to qualify for funding.)
Staff Discounts
Services can choose to offer a discount of up to 95% of an eligible employee's family gap, provided the employee still pays the other 5%. The discount will not affect the employee’s Child Care Subsidy (CCS) entitlement.
Application of CCS, Kindy Funding & Staff Discounts
the educator discount must be applied after CCS and approved TPPs (third-party payments). ref Admin Act s201BA(4)(b)(ii) - CCS Helpdesk
The application of fees and discounts needs to be in the following order:
- Full Fee
- CCS (Child Care Subsidy)
- Fee Relief (TPP)
- Staff Discount (optional)
| Fee/Discount | Debits | Credits | Balance |
|---|---|---|---|
| Attendance ($135/day x 5) | $675.00 | $675.00 | |
| CCS (76%, 100 hours) | $474.55 | $200.45 | |
| Gov Kindy Funding (over 48 weeks) | $43.96 | $156.49 | |
| Staff Discount (95% of gap) | $148.67 | $7.82 |
The above method is calculated automatically in OWNA when you are using the new Staff Discount method (set up in the child's profile) and the Gov Fee Relief Setup to apply the credits.
Waiving the Gap
During a period of emergency, you can waive the gap fee for families if a child does not attend care or your service is closed as a direct result of the emergency. Gap fee waivers do not apply for partial closures or if children have attended part of the day.