In Home Child Care

Subsidised care under the IHC program must be provided only for children of individuals eligible for the Child Care Subsidy who can demonstrate that other types of approved child care are not available or appropriate and where one or more of the following eligibility criteria apply:

• parents or carers are working non-standard or variable hours, outside normal child care service hours
• parents or carers are geographically isolated from other types of approved child care, including because they reside in a rural or remote location
• the family has challenging or complex needs.

Challenging or complex needs may include one or more of the following:

• a child with additional needs or a disability whose early childhood education and care requirements cannot be catered for in another approved child care setting, or through other government funded or community-based services
• a family where a parent is undergoing treatment for a serious illness
• other complex family situations that prevent families from accessing other approved child care types.

IHC Support Agencies assess families against the IHC eligibility criteria to determine if they are eligible for IHC.

Continued eligibility for In Home Care is assessed every three months through the In Home Care Support Agency. This is a requirement of the funding agreement with Department of Education Skills and Employment – In Home Care.

We currently have In Home Care Educators throughout the Northern Rivers area from Tweed Heads to Lismore, Queensland and Gold Coast.

Part time, full time, casual, occasional, before and or after school care, overnight, roster or shifts, and evenings or weekends; dependant on the availability of an IHC Educator.

Families may be able to access IHC for children receiving funding through the NDIS, however sessions of IHC must have a focus on early childhood education and care.

• Contact the In Home Care Service to discuss your eligibility 07 55 875 313
• Complete the In Home Care eligibility form with evidence and email to ihc.coordinator@nrcs.org.au
• The IHC Service will send out Family Registration Forms for you to complete. You will be required to send your child’s immunisation records and a copy of your CCS Assessment Notice.
• Once a possible match between parent/guardian and an IHC Educator is made, the parent is contacted, and details of needs are confirmed.
• The Educator and Parent (and children if possible) make contact and meet.
• If the placement is agreed upon, the parent is given the Home Safety Assessment checklist and an appointment is made for the assessment. Home Safety Assessment is conducted at the family home and areas to be modified are identified and discussed. Enrolment form is completed.
• Parent/Guardian applies for CCS and makes changes to comply with Home Safety Assessment requirements if necessary.
• IHC Educator visits family home again and completes Parent/Educator Contract forms.
• IHC Manager confirms Home Safety requirements are met.
• Care commences.
• IHC Manager will visit the enrolled family every six months to perform and manage IHC Safety Check and 3 monthly visits with the Educator in the Families home.

In Home Care educators charge a family fee. This means that there is a set hourly fee regardless of whether all the children are in care.

The family hourly rate cap is $37.34 per hour and the Additional Child Care Subsidy rate is $44.81 per hour. Depending on family circumstances, Child Care Subsidy will subsidise this amount for families who are eligible. Note that the CCS percentage is based on the family’s taxable income. Educators can charge a higher hourly rate for travel incurred because of the child’s needs. For example, the educator may be required to collect a child from pre-school or drop them off to preschool. This is discussed and decided between the parent and educator prior to commencement of this service.

Click here for Priority of Access Guidelines for In Home Childcare Places

Click here for further Fee Information

Click here for Child Care Subsidy CCS

Click here for Additional Child Care Subsidy ACCS

No, families cannot receive Child Care Subsidies during the time a child is engaged in formal schooling, including for the purpose of supervising distance education programs such as School of the Air (on air and off air times). This includes the programs many schools provided to parents/carers to deliver to their children during the COVID-19 pandemic. This is longstanding policy, as the Commonwealth funds state and territory governments for the delivery of school education. Care provided while a child is completing homework does not constitute formal schooling.

Supervision of distance education programs may be provided in the family home by an IHC educator as a private arrangement between the family and the service, complementary to the provision of subsidised child care. Private arrangements do not attract Child Care Subsidy.

IHC has a focus on education and care, and may complement disability support received through the National Disability Insurance Scheme (NDIS). A child with additional needs may receive NDIS support and the family, if they are eligible for the Child Care Subsidy and meet the eligibility criteria for IHC, may also be able to receive IHC.