OSHC coalition acknowledges return to CCS

A coalition of five large outside school hours care (OSHC) providers has released a statement in response to the “Return to CCS” roadmap released by Dan Tehan, Minister for Education on 8 June 2020. 

The coalition, which is made up of providers Camp Australia, Junior Adventures Group, Their Care, Team Kids and the YMCA, had previously called on Government to extend the ECEC Relief Package to cover the winter holidays, something which to some degree appears to have occurred, with the return to CCS now scheduled for 13 July 2020, the first day of term three in Victoria and Queensland and two thirds of the way through the holidays in New South Wales. 

In their latest statement, the coalition of providers acknowledges the ECEC Relief Package extension and the Transition Payment funding package that will come into play on 13 July 2020 as a support for the transition back to CCS, noting the close consultation the group has been engaged in with the Government as the policy evolution unfolded.  

The statement then goes on to note that although Australians have been successful in flattening the curve of COVID-19 “the OSHC sector is still concerned about the long-term effect this will have on families and children, and want to continue to work collaboratively with Government to ensure access to care for all who need it.”

Concerns were also raised about the affordability consequences of a move back to the co-payment system within the CCS and the withdrawal of the JobKeeper support subsidy, however the consortium do recognise that Transition Payment announced will help compensate for this. 

Looking ahead, the services expressed a commitment to continuing to work with the Government on monitoring demand levels as the CCS comes back on line and on clarifying further details about the new package as they become available.