We undertake compliance activities to help make sure Child Care Subsidy (CCS) goes to its intended beneficiaries – families. We take enforcement action against providers and services who do not comply with Family Assistance Law (FAL).
On this page:
Our approach
Our compliance approach recognises that many providers and services willingly comply with their obligations. We:
- 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 who want to do the right thing
- regularly check providers are complying with their obligations and take compliance action when they’re not
- investigate tip-offs and reports of non-compliance.
We may ask you to provide information, documents or records that will help us administer FAL. Read more about section 158 or 67FH notices. Information and documents may include, but is not limited to:
- records which support a child’s attendance at a service
- evidence of gap fee payments
- a statement of tax record (STR).
Compliance action
Before we take compliance action, we give the provider:
- a notice of our intended action
- opportunity to provide written submissions.
In some instances, FAL allows us to take compliance action without giving notice. For example:
- where a provider’s approval under National Law is suspended or cancelled
- when imposing additional conditions of approval.
We generally do not take action where there is an honest mistake. You can contact us if you are:
- uncertain about how to do something
- concerned you may have done something incorrectly.
Any action we take will:
- be proportionate
- consider the risk to the integrity of Child Care Subsidy
- consider the severity of the non-compliance
- consider your past behaviour or compliance history
- consider your response to any earlier non-compliance action.
Financial Integrity Strategy
Our Child Care Subsidy Financial Integrity Strategy outlines the department's approach to maintaining the integrity of the Child Care Subsidy system.
Read about our CCS Financial Integrity Strategy
Strengthening quality and safety regulation
FAL places quality and safety as a paramount consideration when:
- assessing CCS approval
- maintaining ongoing CCS approval.
The guidelines below support a whole of system, data-driven approach to strengthening safety in early childhood education and care (ECEC).
We may take compliance action against providers or services where there are identified risks to child safety. Actions include:
- suspending or cancelling CCS approval
- refusing CCS service applications
- placing conditions on CCS approval.
Compliance video series
Watch these videos to understand your obligations under FAL.
Watch our compliance video series
What happens if you don’t comply?
We may take compliance action if you fail to meet your obligations.
Compliance action could include:
- issuing infringement notices
- imposing conditions on provider or service CCS approval
- varying your provider approval to:
- reduce the number of any places allocated to your service
- suspend payments of fee reduction amounts for one or more approved services for up to 3 weeks
- suspend or cancel CCS approval for one or more services
- suspending or cancelling your provider CCS approval for all services
- issuing a debt
- suspending or cancelling your CCS approval
- seeking civil penalty orders
- criminal prosecutions.
Infringement notices
We can issue infringement notices, or fines, to providers that don’t follow the rules under FAL. Infringement notices help providers avoid more severe penalties. They allow a provider to pay a small fine rather than get much larger penalties.
Learn more about infringement notices
Learn more about the infringement notices register
Debt notices
We may issue debt notices to providers that don’t follow the rules under FAL. If you refuse to pay a debt, we may take further action.
Imposing additional conditions on approval
We can impose additional conditions on your provider or service approval if you do not comply with your obligations.
Learn more about imposing conditions on approval
Suspension of approval
We may suspend your provider approvals if you don’t comply with your obligations or following a voluntary request.
Learn more about suspension of approval
Cancellation of approval
We may cancel your provider or service approval if you fail to comply with your obligations or if your National Law approval is cancelled.
Learn more about cancellations of approval
Enforcement action register
We can take enforcement action when providers and services don’t comply with their obligations under FAL. We publish details of our enforcement action in the public interest.
Learn more about the enforcement action register
Working with other agencies
We work with other agencies to keep the system fair. This includes sharing intelligence and information, exchanging data, and engaging in joint taskforces and programs.
Learn more about our work with other agencies
Submit a tip-off
If you have information related to people or child care services or providers who are not following the rules, you can report it to us anonymously. Our CCS fraud tip-off form is anonymous and only takes a few minutes to complete.