Large early childhood education and care providers must report financial information, including information about revenue, profits, and leasing arrangements.
On this page:
What is a large provider?
A large provider is one that:
- operates 25 or more services
- shares operation of 25 or more services with another provider
- plans to operate or share operation of 25 or more services.
Providers are considered to share operations if:
- both providers have at least 25% of persons with management or control (PMCs) in common
- one provider owns 15% or more of the other
- one provider is entitled to receive 15% or more of any dividends paid by another provider.
If you operate, or share operation of, less than 25 services, these financial reporting obligations do not apply to you.
What do large providers need to do?
Large providers must report financial information, including information about revenue, profits, and leasing arrangements.
The information you must report will depend on your circumstances and may include:
- a balance sheet
- a profit and loss statement
- a statement of changes in equity
- a cash flow statement
- details of leasing arrangements and costs
- a Director’s report if available
- if audited for the reporting period, the Auditor’s report
- information such as if a provider has a credit facility or any debt guarantees in place from a separate entity.
If you think you meet the definition of a large provider, but haven’t been contacted by the Department of Education, please email ECECFinancialViability@education.gov.au
When do large providers need to report by?
The reporting deadline depends on when you do your financial reporting. You must report within 3 months of the end of your financial reporting period.
Providers who report on the financial year
If you do your financial reporting on a financial year, you must report within 3 months of 30 June. The deadline will occur on 1 October each year.
The deadline for providers who report on the financial year is approaching.
The Large Provider Financial Input Report for the 2022–23 financial year is now available.
You must submit a completed report to ECECFinancialViability@education.gov.au by 1 October 2023.
Please ensure to include financial statements and information as outlined in the important information tab.
Providers who report on the calendar year
If you do your financial reporting on a calendar year, you must report within 3 months of 31 December. The deadline will occur on 1 April each year.
Why is it necessary to provide this information?
We use this information to:
- assess the financial viability of large providers
- identify and mitigate risks posed by large providers exiting the market unexpectedly
- protect the government’s investment in the sector.
We may also publish some information, such as profits and revenue, on the Starting Blocks website. Publishing this information helps:
- improve the transparency of child care costs
- increase the amount of information available to families when choosing a service.
What are the consequences if large providers don’t comply?
We may take compliance action if you fail to meet your obligations. Compliance action could include:
- putting conditions on your approval
- issuing an infringement
- suspending or cancelling your approval.
More information
If you have questions about your obligations as an approved provider, please contact the Child Care Subsidy Helpdesk on 1300 667 276 or ccshelpdesk@education.gov.au