The Australian Government has announced that it will provide additional support for New South Wales by allowing child care services to waive gap-fees for parents keeping their children at home due to current COVID-19 restrictions.

Under current NSW restrictions child care services can remain open to provide care for those who need it, but many parents choose to keep their children home.

From July 19, 2021 child care centres in New South Wales Local Government Areas subject to stay at home orders can waive gap-fees on the days that parents choose to keep their children at home. The gap fee is the difference between the Child Care Subsidy (CCS) the Government pays to a service and the remaining fee paid by the family.

Prime Minister Scott Morrison said around 216,000 families across Greater Sydney that access childcare services could benefit from this measure.

“When gap-fees are waived families will not have to pay any out-of-pocket costs for those days that their children are at home during the current stay at home period,” the Prime Minister said.