Family day care (FDC) educators who provide care for extended family members must meet specific requirements to remain compliant with Child Care Subsidy (CCS) rules and regulatory expectations.

Extended family members include an educator’s, or their partner’s, niece, nephew, cousin, grandchild or great grandchild. While care can be provided in these circumstances, additional conditions apply where CCS is claimed.

A key requirement is the ‘less than 50 per cent’ rule, which ensures that most children in care are not related to the educator.

To meet this requirement, less than half of the children being educated and cared for at any one time can be extended family members. The calculation is based on the number of children present during a session, rather than enrolments or bookings.

Where more than 50 per cent of children are related, those sessions may not be eligible for CCS.

The rule supports the integrity of CCS by ensuring family day care operates as a regulated education and care service, rather than an informal care arrangement.

Approved providers and educators must:

• maintain accurate attendance records
• ensure session reports reflect actual attendance
• monitor compliance with CCS requirements and the Education and Care Services National Law and Regulations

Careful record-keeping is particularly important where attendance patterns change day to day.

Educators should regularly review attendance to ensure compliance, particularly where extended family enrolments fluctuate.

Approved providers play a key role in:

• supporting educators to understand CCS requirements
• monitoring attendance patterns
• ensuring accurate and compliant reporting

Clear communication with families is also essential, especially where CCS eligibility may be impacted.

In regional and remote communities, family day care often supports access where other service types are limited. In these settings, caring for extended family members can be more common, making a clear understanding of CCS requirements critical.

To support the sector, the Department of Education has released guidance and a short explainer video outlining how to apply the ‘less than 50 per cent’ rule and report sessions correctly.

More information is available via:

Providing care to relatives

Caring for relatives – the less than 50% rule