The Australian Government Department of Education publishes details of enforcement actions undertaken on the Enforcement Action Register.
The Australian Government Department of Education takes enforcement action against early childhood education and care providers and services who do not comply with Family Assistance Law (FAL). The Department publishes details of enforcement actions undertaken on the Enforcement Action Register. Enforcement actions published can include:
- Suspending or cancelling Child Care Subsidy (CCS) approval, meaning that CCS is no longer paid to the Provider/Service for sessions of care
- Infringement notices
- Imposing conditions on the approval of the Service/Provider that they are required to comply with to remain approved to receive CCS
- Criminal convictions.
Why is this important?
Early childhood education and care (ECEC) Providers that administer Child Care Subsidy must comply with Family Assistance Law. The FAL requires Providers and Services to perform and comply with certain requirement to be approved by the Australian Government to administer CCS payments on behalf of families.
The Department undertakes compliance activities to monitor that Providers and Services are complying with the requirements and takes enforcement action against Providers and Services who do not comply with FAL.
The Department takes the following compliance approach, and recognises that many Providers and Services willingly comply with their obligations:
- Provide information, education and resources to help Providers and Services understand and comply with their obligations
- Engage with stakeholders and the sector to support Providers and Services to do the right thing
- Regularly check Providers are complying with their obligations and take compliance action when they are not
- Investigates tip-offs and reports of non-compliance.
If providers and services do not comply with their obligations, the Department may take compliance action, which could result in an enforcement action.
How can I submit a tip-off?
If you have information related to child care providers, services or people who are not following the rules, you can report it to the Department anonymously. The CCS fraud tip-off form is anonymous and only takes a few minutes to complete.