The term ‘Big Childcare’’ ‘Company’ ‘us’ or ‘we’ refers to the owner of the website whose registered office is 5a Jamieson Street St Albans Victoria 3021.
The term ‘you’ refers to the user or viewer of our website or parent/ guardian of a child enrolled or potentially enrolled with our company.
ENROLMENT/BOOKINGS:
An Enrolment form must be fully completed, and Terms and Conditions are signed for each family for the children to attend any session. Big Childcare reserves the right to refuse care for incomplete or unsigned enrolments.
Bookings are required for all programs. This allows Big Childcare to have time for correct staffing and planning. Last minute or “walk in” bookings may not be accepted if staffing ratios do not allow it and may be subject to a non-communication fee ($50).
Casual bookings will incur an additional fee.
Medical needs or Health conditions, and any associated medicals/ action plans and prescribed medication must be disclosed/ provided to Big Childcare before the child attends the program or, if diagnosed once enrolled, before the next attendance.
Bookings and notification of absences can be made via the Third Party Software App, and directly to the service. Bookings, absences, and cancellations made directly to the service need to be made in writing.
Notification of absences to any session must be provided 2 hours before the start of that session.
Non-communication of absences may result in a Non-Communication Fee being charged ($50 per instance at the discretion of the Service Manager/ Coordinator or Head Office Representative).
Children must be signed in directly by a guardian or nominee in the service. Due to the legal and regulatory requirements children are not allowed to sign themselves in. Kiosks cannot be brought out of the service for signing in off site, due to supervision requirements.
Team members can ask for ID if they are not confident of the identity of the individual collecting a child. Refusal to provide ID will result in the child not being allowed to leave the premises with the said individual. The child’s parents or guardians will then be contacted.
If a team member does not consider the person who has requested to pick up a child/ren from the Service to be authorised to collect the child or they are not in a fit state to take responsibility for a child/ren, they will exercise their duty of care and refuse access to the adult, retain the child at the Service and notify the child’s/children’s parents or carers. If no other authorised nominee is found to collect the children, then the child will be handed over to the relevant emergency services. If deemed appropriate, children protection authorities will be called.
All Children are expected to adhere to the services guidelines regarding behaviour. In the event of continued inappropriate behaviour or actions that threaten the health and safety of other children or staff, guardians/ parents may be called to collect a child that is displaying such behaviour.
In the case of serious inappropriate behaviour, after appropriate behaviour guidance procedures have been followed, Guardian/ Parents will be notified, and the child may be removed or suspended for a period time or excluded permanently from the service.
All parents/ guardians, carers/ nominees/ guests must abide by the parent code of conduct. Violence, verbal or physical abuse by guardians or nominees towards staff will result in suspensions, possible permanent expulsion or criminal charges being processed. Violence and aggression towards staff will not be tolerated under any circumstance.
EXTENDED SESSIONS: If a session goes for longer than normal (e.g. On the last day of term), an additional fee will be charged on a pro rata basis. Standard absence fees apply for any absences.
CURRICULUM/ STUDENT FREE DAYS: Recurring Before or After school care bookings that fall on a school designated curriculum or student free day, will automatically be transferred over to the corresponding full day session. This session can be cancelled 2 business days or more in advance by the guardian/ carer with no absence fees passed on. If notification of cancellation is not made, the standard absence fees will be charged.
PUBLIC HOLIDAYS: Recurring Bookings that fall on Public Holidays cannot be cancelled or removed. Recurring bookings that fall on a scheduled public holiday during school terms will be charged the standard absent fee. An absence will be recorded for the session and an absent fee charged. Public Holidays will not be charged during School Holiday periods. If a cancellation is processed for a session on a public holiday, the booking will be reinstated.
BILLING, STATEMENTS AND UNPAID ACCOUNTS:
Invoices and Statements are issued each Sunday for sessions during the course of that week.
Automated Direct Debits are processed each Monday.
Big Childcare has the right to process direct debits for declined payments on any other day to recover outstanding amounts.
Declined or failed Direct Debit payments must be paid in full (and approved, not in a pending or processing state) by close of business that Thursday.
Non payment of fees and charges will result in suspension from Big Childcare commencing the start of the following week until payment is made in full. Failure to pay could result in the debt being referred to an external debt collection agency. During Vacation Care Payment is required immediately and suspension could occur earlier.
Any costs associated with recovery of debt will be passed onto the family.
Big Childcare reserves the right to require payments in advance if recurring debt issues arise with enrolments.
CHILDCARE SUBSIDY
You (the guardian/ parent) are responsible for providing Centrelink with all relevant information to be eligible to claim Child Care Subsidy (CCS). If you have any questions relating to your Centrelink benefits or entitlements, you must contact the Centrelink – Family Assistance line on 13 61 50
If you intend on claiming any subsidy for Big Childcare Services, it is your responsibility to supply Big Childcare with correct CRNs (which differ between parents and individual children), dates of birth and names and correct CCS claimant via the Big Childcare enrolment form or Parent App. This information in the Big Childcare Enrolment must match the information given to the Family Assistance Office and be provided to Big Childcare before your child’s attendance at the Service. All information you provide to Big Childcare regarding entitlement to Child Care Subsidy must be correct, up to date and consistent with the information you provide to Centrelink. Until Big Childcare can verify your entitlement to Child Care Subsidy, you are responsible for paying full fees and charges for use of the Service. Correcting incorrectly supplied CCS information (e.g. incorrect claimant change over or processing a previous financial year submission using the Application to amend/submit previous financial year data ) will incur a $50 administration fee.
Certified Written Agreement (CWA) is required to receive your Child Care Subsidy (CCS) via your Centrelink account. Once you have placed your bookings with Big Childcare it is your responsibility to confirm your Certified Written Agreement (CWA) via your MyGov account. More information on what a CWA is can be found here.
Big Childcare is not responsible for the covering of CCS payments for families in the event of CCS being removed or altered to cover centrelink debt, failure to provide the required information, loss of eligibility, subsidy percentage or CCS hours, or other external factors as processed by Services Australia/ Centrelink. Payment of fees are required regardless of CCS processing/ eligibility.
Big Childcare is a fully approved service for Centrelink purposes and will submit the registered child’s attendances to Centrelink every Friday.
Big Childcare in accordance with CCS regulations can only resubmit attendances up to a maximum of 28 days from your attendance.
LATE PICKUP FEES:
Late fees apply to parents/guardians arriving after closure of the service. A fee of $15 per 15 minutes or part thereof will be charged per child. If the child/ren are constantly picked up late (3-5 late pick ups per term) then a one week suspension from the program could be applied.
In the event a child is not collected from the Service by the Service closing time, team members will attempt to contact all authorised persons using the contact details contained in the enrolment form. Where there is no response from the authorised persons, and the child has not been collected within 30 minutes of the Service closing, authorities may be contacted. The duty of care will be handed over to the relevant emergency services. Once the police have been notified, team members will refer to our policies and procedures for contacting child protection authorities regarding the abandonment of a child.
CANCELLATIONS/NO REFUNDS:
Cancellations for bookings in before and after school care and curriculum days need to be made in writing 2 business days or for absent fees not to be passed on. Cancellations cannot be accepted over weekends.
Cancellations are not permitted for School Holiday Programs after the close of business on the last day of the term.
Any alterations/swapping of days to School Holiday bookings must be made before the close of business on the last day of term.
Any additional School Holiday Bookings requested will be subject to staffing ratios and any excursion venue or transportation caps and may not be accepted.
If your child does not attend any of the days they have been booked in for, absence fees will apply.
Refunds cannot be given if your child(ren) is absent during the school holiday period.
Medical certificates for illness/ injury can only be accepted for before and after school care and curriculum/ student free sessions during regular school term dates.
Medical certificates/ Statutory Declarations must be received within 7 days of the absence. Sessions cannot be altered or amended after 28 days of the session.
SICKNESS AND MEDICATION:
The program cannot accept a sick child. This is to ensure the health and safety of the other children and our staff. Entry may be refused to an obviously sick child or alternatively, you may be asked to come back and collect a child that has been signed in while being sick. Guardians are expected to act promptly in such a scenario. Information regarding exclusion of illness can be found here.
If your child requires medication whilst attending the program, parents are required to label medication with the child’s name, time and dosage required in the original packaging and must complete a Medication consent form and Medication Records form. Due to staffing and program costs, medical certificates cannot be accepted during the Vacation Care period for sick children.
SCHOOL HOLIDAY PROGRAM EXCURSIONS/INCURSIONS AND ACTIVITIES:
Parents/Guardians are advised to read the program before booking their children in for the session and check the details required everyday their child(ren) is attending.
Entering a booking form whether online or on a paper form implies consent for accepting transport agreements, medical agreements and regulatory agreements for care.
No last minute or additional bookings will be available on the day of excursion. Bookings for excursions must be made and approved in advance. Bookings made over the weekend for a Monday excursion will also not be accepted. Walk in’s for excursions are prohibited.
Minimum enrollment numbers are required to run each Holiday program. In the event a holiday program is cancelled, Big Childcare will notify you in advance by phone and email. An alternate venue will be offered, or a full refund of any fees paid for the cancelled service will be made. Big Childcare will not be liable to make any other payments or compensations to you in such an event.
All excursions leave at 8:30 am unless otherwise advertised and return times will be advertised at your Centre. Arriving after this time may result in missing the organised transport to the excursion venue. It is advised to arrive 15 minutes before the scheduled departure time to ensure appropriate head counts, safety instructions, toileting and signing in is done in time.
Please ensure your child(ren) is wearing appropriate clothing and footwear for the day’s activities and any additional clothing is provided, for example bathers and jackets. (The program activities are accurate at time of printing.)
Please note: Big Childcare recommends the “Slip Slop Slap Seek Slide” policy during the September and January holiday programs and during School Terms 1 and 4, or when the UV rate is above 3. Please refer to www.cancer.org.au for details.
Every day your child(ren) must bring their lunch, snack, and drinks, unless otherwise stated.
Spending money is not permitted unless specified on the flyer or instructed by Big Childcare management. Children will not be permitted to purchase food during excursions or have food delivered (using third parties e.g. UberEats) during incursions.
Breakfast is provided between 7:00am-8:00am daily.
Risk assessments of excursions are completed and ratios are 1:15 or lower if required by the risk or Executive Management.
Big Childcare reserves the right to change an incursion/excursion without notice should circumstances arise that prevent us from running the scheduled activity safely, for example but not limited to; bad weather, changes to beach conditions (EPA warnings), State and Local government emergencies.
Transport for excursions will be by bus predominantly. In some cases children will walk as a group, pending distance or environmental circumstances/ factors.
INDEMNITY:
Big Childcare does not accept any liability for personal damage or loss sustained by any participant as a result of his/her participation in a program due to any cause unless negligence of Big Childcare, its directors or employees is proven.
Big Childcare staff will endeavour to obtain any medical assistance required as they see fit, and any expenses will be the responsibility of the family.
Big Childcare will retain and store enrolment information on a confidential database. Under national regulations, information provided on enrolment forms are required to be kept for 3 years after a child leaves the service. Other documents (attendance records and medical reports are kept for extended time frames as required under National Laws and Family Assistance Law.
Due to changing Government regulations and our constant reviewing of our procedures and enhancement of our services, Big Childcare reserves the right to amend or change these terms and conditions at any time. When updated, we will notify families of any changes and Families must acknowledge and sign any updated terms and conditions to maintain up to date complete enrolment forms.
GLOSSARY OF TERMS:
CCS Claimant: The primary guardian linked by Centrelink to a child for the purpose of claiming Childcare Subsidy (CCS).
Regulations: Refers to the Education and Care Services National Regulations.
Laws: Refers to the Education and Care Services National Law Act 2010 and Education and Care Services National Law (WA) Act 2012.
