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After much discussion with the department over the last couple of days we have received the below information from the department today:
For family day care educators caring for children who are related to them, the records that must be kept and subsequent reporting requirements vary depending on the circumstances under which care is provided. Family day care educators must record the attendance of their own children. Where genuine liability to pay for care exists, either a relevant arrangement (where there is no eligibility for CSS) or a complying written arrangement (where eligibility for CCS exists) may be appropriate.
A New Tax System (Family Assistance) (Administration) Act 1999 section 204B Requirement to report about children for whom care is provided and section 200A Enrolment notices provide more information about enrolments and reporting where genuine liability exists.
When considering whether an educator’s own children should be included in the number receiving care, the department accepts the standard in National Law (National Regulation 124). This Regulation specifies that the number of children who can be educated and cared for by a family day care educator includes the educator’s own children younger than 13 years of age, if there is no other adult to care for them.
The Child Care Subsidy Secretary’s Rules Rule 12(e) requires that providers keep a record of attendance for each child for whom care is provided, regardless of eligibility for CCS and/or ACCS. This means where the National Law defines a family day care educator’s own children as being educated and cared for by that educator (that is, when they must be counted against the family day care educator to child ratio), then their attendance must also be recorded for the purposes of the Family Assistance Law. There is no form or manner contained in the Family Assistance Law that sets out how this record should be kept. You may wish to use the form of a Relevant Agreement, but are not required to.
Records kept in satisfaction of National Law attendance recording requirements may also be suitable for this purpose.
In summary the department are stating services need to have a record of educators own children in care but you do not have to submit a session report to CCSS. Therefore adding the educators own children to the occupants tab on the parent record will assist with this. If the child attends school then add in the schools hours to hours worked and it will allow the Children In Care Report show the correct ratios for you.
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