Period of emergency declared for ECEC sector in parts of Victoria, NSW and Tasmania

Following heavy rainfall and flooding, the Federal Department of Education (DET) has declared a period of emergency for the early childhood education and care (ECEC) sector in parts of Victoria, Tasmania and New South Wales. 

This means that early learning service providers, services and families in the affected areas can access emergency support if they have been affected by the floods.

Service providers and families can check whether the government has declared a period of emergency in their local area here. The Australian Government will update this list if need be, as the situation progresses.

ECEC specific support 

The following support is available for services and families in affected regions during the period of emergency:

• services can continue to get Child Care Subsidy (CCS) if they close as a direct result of the emergency
• services can waive gap fees if a child doesn’t attend, or their service is closed, during the emergency
• children will get unlimited allowable absences for the duration of the period of emergency

The following support is available to help services and families recover after an emergency:

• Families may be able to access additional absences, if they’ve exhausted their allowable absences, after the emergency.
• The Community Child Care Fund (CCCF) special circumstances grant helps services stay open when something unexpected happens, such as an emergency. Affected services should apply after an event has occurred and they have accessed other disaster support.
• Families experiencing temporary financial hardship due to an emergency that happened in the last 6 months may be eligible for Additional Child Care Subsidy. Families should apply through their Centrelink online account.

Full details of support are available on the DET website.

Services in affected areas may also be eligible for other government support:

• The Australian Government provides payments and help for people affected by natural disasters.
  Individuals can find out if eligible for support on the Services Australia website.
• State Governments may also provide support for individuals and businesses impacted by a natural disaster. Individuals are advised to check with their State Government via vic.gov.au, tas.gov.au or nsw.gov.au as well as their local council for possible additional support.

ECEC service providers have received direct contact from the Federal Department of Education about this support.