In Home Care is a flexible form of child care where an approved carer provides care in the child’s home. In Home Care is targeted to families unable to access existing child care services such as families working shift or non standard hours or those located in regional or remote regions of Australia.
In Home Care services must comply with applicable State and Territory regulations and licensing requirements when providing care to children.
To be eligible for In Home Care, a child must have no access to existing child care services and/or their circumstances mean that an existing child care service cannot meet their needs, and the child meets one or more of the following criteria (as set out in subsection 10 (1C) of the Eligibility Determination):
(a) the child, or any other child with whom the child lives, has an illness or disability
(b) the individual in whose care the child is, or the individual’s partner (if any), has an illness or disability that reduces the individual’s, or the partner’s capacity to care for the child
(c) the child lives in a rural or remote area
(d) work hours of the individual in whose care the child is, or the individual’s partner
(if any), are (or include) the hours during which no other approved child care service (other than an approved in home care service) operates that could otherwise provide care
(e) the individual in whose care the child is or the individual’s partner (if any) is caring for three or more children (including the child) who have not yet commenced school, or
(f) any other circumstances determined by the Secretary in relation to the child.
DEEWR will continue to have discretion to allow exemptions to the eligibility criteria for a child in exceptional circumstances.
For a service to become approved, In Home Care places must be available to allocate to that service. In Home Care is a capped program and there are a limited number of In Home Care places available for allocation to services.
DEEWR is currently seeking applications from operators of In Home Care services, or persons applying for approval of such services, interested in receiving an allocation of In Home Care places, or an additional allocation of places. Further information, including the applicant guidelines and application forms, is available on the In Home Care and Occasional Care Allocation page.
Following consultations with key stakeholders, interim standards for In Home Care were introduced in 2008. In Home Care providers are now required to adhere to these standards until such time that they are replaced by National Standards. Introducing minimum requirements and focussing on enhancements in quality will increase the marketability of In Home Care and improve the quality of care and the safety of carers, families and children. The Australian Government will continue to work with state and territory governments to develop the National Standards for In Home Care.
Currently, In Home Care services are not covered by Child Care Quality Assurance.
The aim of the Australian Government's Child Care Quality Assurance is to provide a framework for reviewing, measuring and improving the quality of the work being done by approved child care providers. Quality Assurance focuses on quality outcomes for children and encompasses processes of self-assessment and continuing improvement against areas of quality care.
Quality Assurance:
- improves outcomes for children
- improves the accountability of child care to the public, and
- better equips services to cater for children's individual needs.
To be eligible for and maintain approval for Child Care Benefit purposes services must register for and satisfactorily participate in quality assurance as set out in their Funding Agreement.
Under the Community Support Program, the Australian Government provides financial support to In Home Care services. There are four types of financial support available to In Home Care providers depending on their eligibility:
- Set Up Assistance Funding
- Operational Support Funding
- Regional Travel Assistance Grant (RTAG)
- Sustainability Assistance
For more information contact DEEWR on 1300 363 079 and request the child care office in your State or Territory.
1. Set Up Assistance Grant
Set Up Assistance is a payment approved by DEEWR to help organisations to establish new child care services. It is a one-off payment to eligible, new, not-for-profit and for-profit services to assist in meeting set up costs.
Set Up Assistance is only available to Child Care Benefit approved In Home Care services. For a service to become approved, In Home Care places must be available for allocation to that service.
Eligibility
Eligible for-profit organisations may receive Set Up Assistance for up to 10 child care services only. However, if they own or operate 10 or more child care services of any care type (Australia wide) they will not be eligible to receive Set Up Assistance.
To be eligible to receive Set Up Assistance a new service must:
- be approved to administer Child Care Benefit on behalf of families
- not have commenced providing child care
- not be a relocation of an existing service
- not be taking over a child care service of the same care type that has operated from the same facilities at any time in the previous 12 months and
- be allocated places by DEEWR (In Home Care only).
2. In Home Care Operational Support
Operational Support is funding to assist In Home Care services that are approved to administer Child Care Benefit on behalf of families. In Home Care services receive Operational Support to assist them with the costs of recruiting, monitoring and supporting a network of carers and allocating carers to provide flexible care for children in the children’s family home.
Eligibility
All In Home Care services that are approved for Child Care Benefit purposes or centre based services providing approved In Home Care are eligible to receive Service Support funding.
More information: