Get ready to apply

When you apply for Child Care Subsidy (CCS) approval, you’ll need to provide a range of information and evidence. Having this information ready will reduce the time it takes to complete the application. This page outlines what you need to do before you apply.

On this page:

Complete e-learning

Complete an e-learning course about the approval process to ensure you have a good understanding of what is required before you apply.

Access e-learning via ACECQA’s website.

Register with PRODA

You must register with PRODA (Provider Digital Access) in order to access the CCS approval application.

PRODA is an online identity verification and authentication system. It lets you securely access government online services.

You’ll need to create an organisation account and individual accounts for certain people in your organisation before starting your application.

Individual accounts

The following people in your organisation must create individual accounts in PRODA:

Services Australia has instructions on how to register an individual PRODA account.

Organisation account

You must also register your organisation in PRODA.

Before you can register an organisation in PRODA, you must make sure that:

Services Australia has instructions on how to register an organisation in PRODA.

Companies must validate their PRODA account with their Australian Business Number (ABN) not their Australian Company Number (ACN).

The individual who creates the PRODA organisation account is identified as ‘the Director’ of that account. They own and control the PRODA organisation account.

It is a good idea to give more than one person Director access to the PRODA organisation account. This will ensure you don’t lose access if the owner of the account leaves your organisation.

The individuals identified as Directors do not need to be a PMC.

Once you’ve created the organisation account you must link it to both:

  • the National Quality Agenda IT System – this is where you submit your applications
  • the Provider Entry Point (PEP) – this is where you access the Child Care Subsidy System once approved.

You can do this using the service providers tab.

Services Australia has information about managing your organisation account in PRODA.

PRODA support

If you need help creating PRODA accounts, contact the PRODA Helpdesk on 1800 700 199 (option 1) 8 am to 5 pm, Monday to Friday.

Apply for National Law approval

You must be granted National Law approval from your state or territory government before we can grant CCS approval.

However, to make applying easier, you can apply for both approvals at the same time.

Applying for both approvals means your applications can be assessed by your state and territory government and the Australian Government at the same time.

While your applications may be assessed at the same time, approval is granted separately. We cannot grant CCS approval until you have National Law approval.

Your state or territory regulatory authority has more information about applying for National Law approval.

If you’re out of scope of the National Law, you do not need to apply for this approval. You do need to provide evidence that you hold the relevant approvals or licence required in your state or territory. This could be a letter or certificate from your state or territory regulatory authority.

Identify persons with management or control of the provider

You must identify all PMCs in your application.

See who is considered a PMC.

You must list all PMCs in your application. You must supply the following details for each PMC:

  • Name
  • Date of birth
  • Position
  • Phone number
  • Email address
  • PRODA Registration Authority (RA) number
  • Evidence of background checks
  • Details about the individual having owned, operated or been employed by a child care service in the past 5 years
  • Details of any interest the individual has in a Registered Training Organisation (RTO) or other business associated with child care.

You cannot choose to omit someone if they meet the definition of a PMC. If you don’t identify all PMCs in your application, we cannot assess your application.

Identify persons responsible for the day-to-day operation of a service

You must also identify persons responsible for the day-to-day operation of a service. We call these people ‘persons responsible at the service’.

See who is considered a person responsible at the service.

You must list all persons responsible in your application. You’ll need to supply the following details for each individual:

  • Name
  • Date of birth
  • Position
  • Phone number
  • Email address
  • PRODA RA number
  • Evidence of background checks.

Undertake background checks

You must show evidence that your PMCs and persons responsible at the service have background checks.

See a table outlining the mandatory background checks you must provide with your application.

Please note background checks come from various agencies and are not processed on the spot. We recommend starting this step as early as possible.

We cannot assess your application if it does not include all the required checks.

Prepare a governance statement

Approved providers receive significant amounts of public money in the form of CCS payments. We have a responsibility to ensure this money is not misused.

You must be able to demonstrate that your organisation has sufficient policies and processes to responsibly administer CCS payments and comply with Family Assistance Law. This is known as your governance arrangements.

We need to know:

  • how your organisation is structured
  • how decisions will be made at each service
  • how you’ll ensure staff have the information and knowledge to comply with the law
  • how you’ll check that staff are acting honestly and with diligence
  • how you’ll manage CCS payments, including:
    • your fee policies
    • what steps you’ll take to ensure families pay the gap fee electronically
    • your enrolment policies
    • how you’ll record attendances and absences
    • how you’ll manage Additional Child Care Subsidy claims
    • how you’ll keep records
    • how you’ll notify the department about relevant matters.
  • what actions you’ll take when there is a problem.

From July 2023, all new Family Day Care and In Home Care services must accept gap fees centrally. This means families must pay gap fees into a bank account that the provider owns. An educator may collect the fee on behalf of a provider (for example, by using an EFTPOS machine in their home), but the payment must be made into an account the provider owns.

If an educator will collect gap fees on behalf of a Family Day Care or In Home Care provider, you must outline the following in your governance statement:

  • how you’ll ensure the full gap fee is paid to a bank account owned by the provider
  • how you’ll address non-compliance or fraud by educators.

Read more about taking all reasonable steps to collect gap fees electronically.

If you’re seeking approval to provide In Home Care, you’ll also need to outline how you’ll ensure the provision of safe, high-quality care. This is because In Home Care is out of scope of the National Law.

We’ve developed governance statement templates to help you provide this information.

If you’re seeking approval to provide Family Day Care or In Home Care, you must complete and submit the Family Day Care governance statement.

If you’re seeking approval to provide Centre Based Day Care or Outside School Hours Care, we strongly encourage you to complete and submit the Centre Based Day Care and Outside School Hours Care governance statement. If the information you provide is not sufficient, we’ll ask you to complete the statement before we can assess your application.

This information is separate from and different to any governance information your state or territory regulatory authority may request.

Gather evidence of your entity type

You’ll need to provide documentary evidence of your entity type.

The following table outlines the type of evidence you’ll need to provide based on your entity type.

Entity type Evidence required
Sole trader
  • Australian Business Number, and
  • business name registration, or
    a lease agreement or utility statement showing the sole trader is operating the service, if business name registration is not available.
Partnership
  • a copy of the signed partnership agreement/deed between all members, and
  • evidence for each of the entities included in the partnership, as outlined in this table.
Public or private company
  • historical and current company extract report from the Australian Securities and Investment Commission (ASIC) no older than 3 months from the date of application.
Registered co-operative
  • list of directors, including address and occupation, and
  • certified copy of the rules as registered, and
  • name of board appointed person.
Australian Government and state or territory government body
  • governing document(s) outlining rules and how the governing body will be operated.
Local council

  • governing document(s) outlining rules and how the governing body will be operated, and

  • extract of the legislation which sets out the manner in which the entity can enter into contracts.
Indigenous corporation
  • rules/constitution of association, and
  • Annual General Meeting minutes (if applicable), and
  • list of elected office bearers, and
  • financial statement for previous financial year (if available), and
  • a letters patent (if applicable).
Incorporated or unincorporated body or association
  • rules/constitution of association, and
  • Annual General Meeting minutes (if applicable), and
  • list of elected office bearers.

Confirm other details

We’ll ask you to confirm a range of operational details throughout the application. It is a good idea to know the following information before you apply:

  • Provider name
  • Provider address
  • Provider contact details
  • Bank account details for CCS payments
  • Operational details for each service such as opening hours, fees and inclusions
  • Australian Business Number (ABN)
  • ABN of the Ultimate Holding Entity if there is one
  • Australian Business Register (ABR) entity name
  • Whether you are for profit or not-for-profit
  • Whether you are a charity
  • Details of any Registered Training Organisation (RTO) or other child care related business in which the provider has an interest
  • Details of the external management organisation if there is one.

Next step

Complete and submit your application

Submit your application