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20 hours ECE#
20 Hours ECE hours are the funded child hours that services can claim per eligible child for the provision of 20 Hours ECE.
Services are eligible to claim up to 6 hours per child per day, to a maximum of 20 hours per child per week.
Plus 10 ECE#
Plus 10 ECE describes the remaining 10 hours of funding a service can claim for each child in addition to the 20 Hours ECE hours. It is the difference between 30 hours ECE Subsidy funding and the 20 Hours ECE hours.
For more information on the ECE Subsidy see Chapter 3 of this Handbook.
Maximum funding#
Services may claim a maximum of:
- 6 hours funding per day for 20 Hours ECE and/or Plus 10 per eligible child
- 20 hours per week for 20 Hours ECE per eligible child
- 30 hours per week for 20 Hours ECE and Plus 10 per eligible child.
Out of those 30 hours weekly maximum per child, 20 hours per week may be claimed as 20 Hours ECE. The remaining hours up to 30 may be claimed as Plus 10 ECE funding.
Which hours can be claimed as 20 hours ECE#
Parents will choose which days the 20 Hours ECE hours will be allocated to, but no individual day may exceed six 20 Hours ECE hours.
Example 1: Weekly#
The following table shows the number of 20 Hours ECE hours and Plus 10 ECE hours per week that may be claimed for children with different enrolment agreements:
| Name | Hours enrolled | Total hours enrolled per week | 20 Hours ECE hours claimed | Plus 10 ECE hours claimed |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Erin | 8 hours per day | 40 | 20 | 10 |
| Melanie | 4 hours per day | 20 | 20 | |
| Hayden |
| 33 | 20 | 7 |
Example 2#
The table below shows how parents could choose to allocate the 20 Hours ECE hours daily across a week:
- Erin attends 8 hours per day, Monday to Friday.
- Melanie attends 4 hours per day, Monday to Friday.
- Hayden attends 8 hours on Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday, and 4.5 hours on Thursday and Fridays.
| Erin | Monday | Tuesday | Wednesday | Thursday | Friday | Total |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Hours enrolled | 8 | 8 | 8 | 8 | 8 | 40 |
| 20 Hours ECE hours | 4 | 4 | 4 | 4 | 4 | 20 |
| Plus 10 ECE hours | 2 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 10 |
| Difference: DO NOT CLAIM | 2 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 10 |
| Melanie | Monday | Tuesday | Wednesday | Thursday | Friday | Total |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Hours enrolled | 4 | 4 | 4 | 4 | 4 | 20 |
| 20 Hours ECE hours | 4 | 4 | 4 | 4 | 4 | 20 |
| Plus 10 ECE hours |
| Hayden | Monday | Tuesday | Wednesday | Thursday | Friday | Total |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Hours enrolled | 8 | 8 | 8 | 4.5 | 4.5 | 33 |
| 20 Hours ECE hours | 6 | 6 | 6 | 2 | 20 | |
| Plus 10 ECE hours | 2.5 | 4.5 | 7 |
Sharing child places#
Children may share a child-place during the day.
In this situation, services may claim up to 6 hours 20 Hours ECE Funding per eligible child plus up to 6 hours ECE Subsidy Funding per child-place.
Example of sharing child places#
The following example shows how a service could claim funding where a child receiving 20 Hours ECE shares a child-place with an Under Two child.
- Melanie is receiving 20 Hours ECE and is enrolled for five hours on Monday to Friday, from 8am to 1pm.
- Erin is 1-year-old and is enrolled for four hours on Monday to Friday, from 1pm to 5pm.
| Child | Hours | Monday | Tuesday | Wednesday | Thursday | Friday |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Erin | Under 2 hours | 4 | 4 | 4 | 4 | 4 |
| Melanie | 20 Hours | 5 | 5 | 5 | 5 | |
| Plus 10 ECE hours | 5 | |||||
| Total hours claimed per day | 9 | 9 | 9 | 9 | 9 |
2.5 hour sessions#
Sessional services that offer 2.5 hour sessions may claim funding for 3 hours for those sessions.
20 Hours ECE hours may be claimed for the first 2.5 hours. Services must claim Plus 10 ECE hours for the remaining half hour.
Claiming for 20 hours ECE absences#
The absence rules in Chapter 6 apply to 20 Hours ECE funding.
Services must not charge fees for hours that they claim as 20 Hours ECE. If a service claims 20 Hours ECE funding under an absence rule, the service must not charge fees for any conditional or casual child who directly fills that place. If the service charges a fee, it must claim the ECE Funding Subsidy.
This will occur only when the service is filled to its maximum capacity and the casual child is directly replacing an absent child who is claiming 20 Hours ECE.
20 hours ECE attestation#
An attestation included in the enrolment agreement must be signed for each child receiving 20 Hours ECE. 20 Hours ECE funding must not be claimed for a child until the service has received a completed and signed attestation.
Parents must confirm the total hours per day of 20 Hours ECE the child will receive at the service and any other service the child is enrolled to attend.
Enrolment details and records must be kept up-to-date. Parents must notify services and change the enrolment details if there is a change to the number of hours of 20 Hours ECE their child receives at any service.
Using 20 hours ECE at more than 1 service#
Parents may choose to allocate their 20 Hours ECE hours across more than 1 service.
A child can receive a maximum of six 20 Hours ECE hours per day and twenty 20 Hours ECE hours per week as a total across all services.
The enrolment details will indicate if, and for how many hours, a child is receiving 20 Hours ECE at another service. This will tell each service how many 20 Hours ECE hours can be claimed for each child.
Each service may still claim up to 30 hours of funding per child per week, but funding must not be claimed for the same hours. The remaining hours once the 20 Hours ECE hours are used up may be claimed as Plus 10 ECE hours.
