Apply and get approved

How to apply for the worker retention payment and what to expect during the approval process.

On this page:

We will provide information about how Family Day Care and In Home Care providers can apply soon.

Apply for the worker retention payment

Before you apply

Check you’ve met the requirements before starting your application.

The grant guidelines outline important details about the worker retention payment.

The guidelines do not constitute business, investment, legal or tax advice. You may wish to seek independent professional advice before applying.

Download the grant guidelines on GrantConnect.

Are you approved for Child Care Subsidy?

You must be approved for Child Care Subsidy (CCS).

Do you operate an eligible service type?

You must operate at least one Centre Based Day Care (CBDC), Outside School Hours Care (OSHC), Family Day Care (FDC) or In Home Care (IHC) service.

CBDC and OSHC services can apply now. We will provide more information on when FDC and IHC services can soon.

Are your workers covered by the right award?

You must employ workers who:

  • are covered by either the Children’s Services Award 2010 or the Educational Services (Teachers) Award 2020, or
  • primarily undertake the duties covered in either of these awards but are covered by a different award or instrument, like a state industrial instrument.

This may include early childhood teachers, educators, cooks, coordinators, room leaders, support workers, trainees and apprentices.

Have you established a compliant workplace instrument?

You must engage workers through a workplace instrument that is compliant with the grant conditions.

Have you limited your fee growth?

You must agree to limit your fees by a set percentage.

See eligibility and conditions for more information about these requirements.

Search our directory to get help meeting these requirements. We strongly encourage you to access this support before you apply. This will help us process your application quickly.
 

You must provide information about workplace instruments to all eligible workers before you apply.

Please provide them with the factsheet for workers available on GrantConnect.

If we approve your application, you’ll need to sign a declaration confirming you have done this.  
 

The application must be completed by a person with management or control (PMC).

Before you apply:

The PMC must be listed in the Child Care Subsidy System or we can’t process your application quickly.

To update PMC details, see our PEP task card or contact your software provider.

Complete the application

When you are ready to apply, go to the application form.

You’ll need to create an account to use the application. Registration is free.

For technical support with the application, check out the help guide and frequently asked questions.

If you find an error in your application after submitting, contact ccshelpdesk@education.gov.au.

Below is a checklist of the information you’ll need to provide in each section.

You must provide the following details about the PMC submitting the application:

  • name
  • job title
  • phone number
  • email address.

Please check these details carefully. The details must match what is in the Child Care Subsidy System.
You also need to provide details for an alternative contact:

  • name
  • job title
  • phone number
  • email address.

You must provide the following details about the provider.

Please check these details carefully. The details must match what is in the Child Care Subsidy System.

Provider legal name

This is the full legal name of the provider as listed in the Child Care Subsidy System.

Find your provider name:

  • on your CCS approval letter
  • in the Child Care Subsidy System via the PEP or your third-party software.

Provider trading or business name

This is an additional name your provider may trade under.

Alternative provider or organisation name

This is for businesses that trade under complex structures and are known by another name.

Provider primary address

Please provide the address of the provider as listed in the Child Care Subsidy System.

Provider Australian Business Number (ABN)

An ABN is a unique 11-digit number that identifies your business or organisation to the government and community. Use the ABN lookup feature within the application.

Provider customer reference number (CRN)

The provider has one unique CRN. It is different to the service CRNs. A CRN is 9 numbers and ends with a letter. For example, 123456789A.

Find your provider CRN:

  • on the top left of your CCS approval letter
  • in the Child Care Subsidy System via the PEP or your third-party software.

This section asks whether your services comply with the fee growth cap.

If you have services that do not comply with the fee growth cap, you can:

  • request an alternative fee growth cap for some or all of those services within the application, or
  • exclude some or all of those services from your application in the next section.

You will need to:

  • demonstrate financial viability issues at both the provider and individual service level
  • propose an alternative fee growth cap for the service.

You may also request an alternative fee growth cap for one or more of your services while awaiting approval or at any time during the term of your grant agreement. You can do this via a variation request form in the grants portal.
 

By default, all your services are included in your application at the time your application is assessed.

This section allows you to exclude services from your application. It will only display if you have services that do not comply with the fee growth cap.

If you are excluding any services, you will need to provide:

  • how many services you are excluding
  • the name and CRN of those services.

You must provide your compliant workplace instrument(s) at this section.

You will need to indicate the type(s) of workplace instrument(s) you have.

This may be a:

  • multi-enterprise agreement (MEA)
  • enterprise agreement (EA)
  • individual flexibility arrangement (IFA)
  • another form of workplace instrument.

You can share these as:

  • an attachment, or
  • a link to the registered instrument on the Fair Work Commission website.

If you are using individual flexibility arrangements (IFA), you must attach a copy of the IFA for each eligible worker.

You also need to tell us:

  • how many eligible workers are covered by your workplace instrument
  • how many eligible workers are not covered by your workplace instrument
  • the reasons any workers are not covered.

This section asks for the following information about your staff:

  • number of eligible workers across your services to be covered by the worker retention payment
  • number of workers who have direct contact with children
  • number of workers who do not have direct contact with children
  • number of staff vacancies.

We also ask you:

  • whether you have started paying the wage increase
  • if applicable, when you started paying the wage increase.
     

You must make a series of declarations at the end of the application, including any conflicts of interest and the collection of personal information.

At this stage of the application, we recommend you:

  • review your entire application for accuracy and completeness
  • read and complete the declarations
  • submit the application.
     

After you apply

What to expect after you’ve applied.

Upon submission, you will receive a confirmation email with your application ID. The ID begins with ‘WRP’ followed by 5 numbers. Please use this ID in any correspondence about your application.

Before your application is considered complete, we may:

  • ask for more information
  • ask you to confirm or correct details.

Please respond promptly to avoid delays.

Your application will not be considered complete and accurate until we receive what we need.

Once we have received your complete and accurate application:

  • we aim to check your eligibility within 2 months
  • if eligible, we will then commence our assessment.

We aim to assess each application as quickly as possible.

We will advise you of the outcome in writing.

If your application is successful, you will enter into a grant agreement with the department. This will outline:

  • eligible services
  • eligibility requirements
  • grant conditions
  • reporting requirements.

A sample agreement is available on GrantConnect. It is for reference only and is not an offer. We will provide final details to successful applicants.

If you do not meet the conditions of your agreement, we may:

•    stop your payments
•    require you to repay funds.
 

More information and help

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Grant guidelines

Read the grant guidelines for more information.

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Get help

Help is available to understand and meet these requirements.