Advice for flood affected New South Wales ECEC services

A Local Area Emergency (LAE) has been declared for the period 22 March through 4 April 2021 for all early childhood education and care (ECEC) services located in 34 local government areas of New South Wales. 

The Department of Education, Skills and Employment announced the LAE for the following local government areas:

Armidale, Bellingen, Blacktown, Blue Mountains, Camden, Campbelltown, Canterbury Bankstown, Central Coast, Cessnock, Clarence Valley, Coffs Harbour, Cumberland, Dungog Shire, Fairfield, Hawkesbury, Hornsby, Inner West, Kempsey, Ku-ring-gai, Lake Macquarie, Liverpool, Maitland, Mid-Coast, Nambucca, Newcastle, Northern Beaches, Parramatta, Penrith, Port Macquarie-Hastings, Port Stephens, Sutherland, Tenterfield, The Hills, and Wollondilly.

In these areas, services may be required to close by local authorities, or families may be unable to travel to and from services because of flooding.

Families attending services in these areas will have access to additional absences during the LAE period if they have used their allowance of 42 absences.

The Community Child Care Fund (CCCF) Special Circumstances Grant Opportunity helps services stay open when something unexpected happens, such as a local emergency. For more information about this Grant, or to apply, see here. 

In the event that a service is closed, as a result of a local emergency or for any other reason, the closure must be reported within 24 hours to:

• [email protected] 
• the relevant state or territory regulatory authority, and
• the relevant third-party software provider. 

For more information about help available before, during and after an emergency for services, see here. 

Families affected by the floods may be eligible to receive additional support with the cost of child care through the Additional Child Care Subsidy (temporary financial hardship). Families must apply directly to Centrelink.

Families looking for alternative child care options during an emergency can visit Starting Blocks or Child Care Finder.

A range of payments and services are available for individuals recovering from a major disaster. More information on emergency payments is available on the Services Australia website.

Additionally, the Australian Government Disaster Recovery Payment is available to eligible Australians adversely affected by the storms and floods. Visit the Disaster Assist website for details.