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Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)

1. Why has mychild.gov.au been developed?
2. What information is available on mychild.gov.au?
3. Is information provided in other languages on mychild.gov.au?
4. Is this site compatible with screen-reader technology?
5. Can the website be accessed in remote areas that don’t have broadband?
6. How do you turn off the images?
7. Why does the child care database have information about some child care services and not others?
8. How can I get my details on this website if I am a child care provider?
9. Can I promote my products or services on this website?
10. Who manages the website?
11. What is the Office of Early Childhood Education and Child Care (OECECC)?
12. Can I find information on immunisation schedules on mychild.gov.au? What about exclusion from child care/schools for various communicable diseases?
13. Where can I find information about government assistance?
14. How can I find out how much Child Care Benefit or Child Care Rebate I am entitled to?
15. Can I claim the Child Care Benefit or Child Care Rebate if I am self-employed?
16. Where can I find information about parenting?
17. What is the difference between licensed, approved and accredited child care?

1. Why has mychild.gov.au been developed?

The mychild.gov.au website has been developed to create an online portal, aimed primarily at families, providing information about issues affecting young children.

The website is part of the Australian Government’s Information for Parents initiative. This commitment includes publishing information about child care so that families can make informed decisions. The website will provide families with access to better information about child care so that they can identify services that best meet their needs.

2. What information is available on mychild.gov.au?

The mychild.gov.au website provides information about early learning and care initiatives and other issues that affect children as part of the Australian Government’s early childhood development agenda.

Families will find information on different types of child care, how to access assistance with the cost of child care, as well as a searchable database of local child care services.

There are also links to other useful websites about children’s health, development and wellbeing, parenting and family support services.

Future updates on mychild.gov.au will include information about the quality of early learning and child care services. The Australian Government is developing a new national system to ensure quality early childhood education across all child care services and preschools. This will include a new set of strong quality standards and a quality rating system. Information about the quality rating of services will be accessible on mychild.gov.au as this initiative develops.

3. Is information provided in other languages on mychild.gov.au?

Information in languages other than English will become available as mychild.gov.au evolves. In the meantime, families can access a translator service when contacting the following related telephone hotlines:

• mychild Information Line – 13 36 84
• Child Care Access Hotline - 1800 670 305
• Family Assistance Office – 13 61 50
• Centrelink Multilingual Call – 13 12 02

Families can also find related publications in a variety of languages online at the multilingual sections of the Family Assistance Office and Centrelink.

4. Is this site compatible with screen-reader technology?

Yes. The mychild.gov.au website has been designed and tested to ensure that people who are vision impaired can still access the information through screen-reader technology.

5. Can the website be accessed in remote areas that don’t have broadband?

Yes. The mychild.gov.au website can be accessed by people in all areas with internet access. For areas that do not have broadband, users can turn images off and read text only to help with download speed.

6. How do you turn off the images?

To turn images off on the screen, users will need to follow the following instructions depending on which internet browser they have.

Firefox

From the Tools menu, select Options.
At the top of the window, click Content.
Uncheck the Load Images or Load images automatically box.
Click OK.

Netscape 8

In Netscape 8, you configure sites to open images automatically or not based on whether they are trusted sites. Follow these steps:
From the Tools menu, select Options .
Click Site Controls.
Under "Master Settings" on the left, select a type of site.
On the right, uncheck the box for Allow images to be displayed.
Repeat steps 3 and 4 as needed for other types of sites.
Click OK.

Netscape 6 and 7, or Mozilla

From the Edit menu, select Preferences (Note: If you are using Mac OS X, Preferences may be under the Netscape or Mozilla menu.)
On the left side of the Preferences window, under Privacy & Security, click Images. (You may need to click the + (plus sign) or triangle next to Privacy & Security in order to see this option.)
Under "Image Acceptance Policy", click the radio button next to Do not load any images.
Click OK.

In Internet Explorer 5.x and later for Windows

From the Tools menu, select Internet Options.
In the window that appears, select the Advanced tab.
Scroll down the list to "Multimedia", and uncheck the box for Show Pictures.
Click OK.

Safari

From the Safari menu, select Preferences.
At the top of the window that appears, click Appearance.
Uncheck the box next to Display images when the page opens.

7. Why does the child care database have information about some child care services and not others?

The information in the database has been provided voluntarily by child care service providers. The database does not contain information about service providers who did not provide information.

8. How can I get my details on this website if I am a child care provider?

Child care providers can register and update their service information by following the links for Providers on the mychild.gov.au home page.

9. Can I promote my products or services on this website?

Advertising is not allowed on mychild.gov.au. Child care service providers, however, are encouraged to provide information about their approved child care service on our searchable database.

10. Who manages the website?

The Office of Early Childhood Education and Child Care (OECECC) manages mychild.gov.au on behalf of the Australian Government.

11. What is the Office of Early Childhood Education and Child Care (OECECC)?

The Office of Early Childhood Education and Child Care was created as part of the Australian Government’s commitment to developing a national system of high quality, accessible and affordable early childhood education and child care for Australian children.

The Office will drive the Australian Government’s early childhood agenda and signals a new relationship between early learning, education and child care, with a stronger emphasis on connecting with schools to ensure all children are fully prepared for learning and life.

A further description of the Office is available on this site.

12. Can I find information on immunisation schedules on mychild.gov.au? What about exclusion from child care/schools for various communicable diseases?

Exclusion policies at child care and school vary according to state and territory government regulations. Families will need to check with their individual child care service provider or school for relevant exclusion periods and general policy about illness.

General information about children’s immunisation can be found in the wellbeing section of this website.

13. Where can I find information about government assistance?

The mychild.gov.au website provides information about Government assistance that is available to help with the cost of early childhood education and care, including information about Child Care Benefit, Child Care Tax Rebate and other payments to families.

14. How can I find out how much Child Care Benefit or Child Care Rebate I am entitled to?

You can find out about the Child Care Benefit or Child Care Rebate on the mychild.gov.au website. For information about your eligibility for the Child Care Benefit and Child Care Rebate, contact the Family Assistance Office.

15. Can I claim the Child Care Benefit or the Child Care Rebate if I am self-employed?

If you are self-employed you will need to contact the Family Assistance Office to find out about the requirements for claiming Child Care Benefit and the Child Care Rebate.

16. Where can I find information about parenting?

The mychild.gov.au website has links to the Raising Children Network, which can provide you with information on parenting and other issues affecting children.

17. What is the difference between licensed, approved and accredited child care?

Licensed child care

A licensed child care service is one that has met the licensing requirements of the relevant state or territory authority. This allows them to commence operation as a child care service. After receiving a licence, there are separate Australian Government processes for the approval for Child Care Benefit purposes and for quality accreditation.

Approved child care

This is a child care service that has been approved for Child Care Benefit purposes by the Australian Government because it has met certain standards and requirements. These include having a license to operate, qualified and trained staff, being open certain hours, and meeting health, safety and other government requirements.

Families with children attending an approved child care service, who meet the eligibility requirements, can receive Child Care Benefit and may also get the Child Care Rebate.

Families with children attending an approved child care service are eligible to receive Child Care Benefit.

The types of approved child care are:

• Long Day Care
• Family Day Care
• Outside School Hours Care (before and after school and vacation)
• Occasional Care
• In Home Care

The mychild.gov.au website contains a searchable database of approved child care services that have provided information to be published.

Accredited child care

An accredited child care service is one that is participating in the Australian Government quality assurance systems. There are three types of child care that this requirement applies to as a condition of approval for Child Care Benefit purposes. These are:

• Long Day Care
• Family Day Care
• Outside School Hours Care (before and after school and vacation)

Other services can be approved for Child Care Benefit purposes and are not required to be accredited.

The National Childcare Accreditation Council administers the Child Care Quality Assurance systems on behalf of the Australian Government. Services must participate in the relevant quality assurance system in order to maintain their Child Care Benefit approval. Services that are working towards meeting the accreditation requirements satisfy the condition of participation in the process and therefore are eligible to be approved services.

The quality assurance system operates on a five step process which measures the quality of care provided by the service and identifies areas for ongoing quality improvement. Services may be at different stages of this process at a given time. Services that have applied for accreditation and are working towards reaching the appropriate standards will maintain their status as an approved child care service. As such they will be able to administer the claiming and payment processes for Child Care Benefit and the Child Care Rebate on behalf of eligible families.

If you wish to check if the approved child care service you have identified on the mychild.gov.au website is also an accredited service then you should visit the National Childcare Accreditation Council website at www.ncac.gov.au or contact them on 1300 136 554.