Overview of the Child Care Payment Compliance Framework
The Australian Government has implemented a strengthened compliance framework to ensure the integrity of child care payments made to families and services. With around $13 billion being invested in child care over the next four years, it is essential that child care services are aware of, and comply with, their responsibilities under the family assistance legislation.
The Framework sets out the three key strategies employed by the Department of Education, Employment and Workplace Relations (DEEWR) to encourage, enforce and strengthen compliance with responsibilities specified in the family assistance legislation. The strategies include:
- Prevention – educating services and families about their responsibilities and putting in place procedures and systems to minimise the risk of incorrect payment and fraud
- Deterrence – conducting unannounced visits and imposing sanctions and penalties where services engage in non compliant activities
- Detection and Recovery – undertaking compliance reviews, investigating fraud, and where required, recovering child care payments through legal proceedings.
A copy of the Child Care Payment Compliance Framework can be accessed below: