BREAKING: Child Care Finder launched today: Have you updated your details?

The replacement website for mychild.gov.au has launched today, enabling parents to enter their postcode and find detailed information about childcare services available in their local area

The Sector published guidance for services on how to update their details in the lead up to the launch, which can be accessed here.

Services are reminded that, in order to comply with Family Assistance Law, providers must keep fee information, vacancies and operating hours up to date in the CCS system. The New South Wales branch of the Australian Childcare Alliance had previously advised that financial penalties may apply, should services not keep their information up to date.

The Child Care Finder website, which has reportedly been termed a “game changer” by Federal Minister for Human Services Michael Keenan, will enable parents to easily search for long day care, family day care, in home care and outside school care opportunities in their area.  

Those seeking childcare are able to tailor their search to cater for specific needs such as whether or not a service provides nappies, or lunch, and select opening hours which suit their needs.

Using an interactive map, parents are able to see centres with and without vacancies in their area, choosing those which meet their needs. Also shown are the costs per day for services, and how services rank against one another in terms of the National Quality Framework.

The Child Care Finder can also notify parents, using push notifications to the parents’ phone, of when a vacancy at their prefered service becomes available.

The interactivity of the new system means it is more important than ever for services to keep their information up to date. Functionality is being developed within the Child Care Finder to allow parents and families to book into a centre directly through the website.

The Herald Sun reports Federal Minister for Education Dan Tehan as saying busy parents would welcome the new service.

“A one-stop-shop where the information is easy to use and easy to understand will help parents make informed choices about where to send their kids for child care,” Mr Tehan allegedly said.

The Herald Sun reports the Federal Government as saying that the development of the new Child Care Finder was part of a $6 million investment to develop the Service Connect platform and the Child Care Finder site.

The Child Care Finder can be accessed here.