You may need to make a reasonable estimate when reporting certain prescribed discounts. You should use the most accurate information you have available at the time of submitting the session report.
On this page:
When to use a reasonable estimate
To calculate the prescribed discount, you need to know:
- the family’s gap fee - the daily session fee minus the family’s CCS entitlement
- the prescribed discount schedule - how and when to apply the prescribed discount.
Depending on when you submit your session report, you may be able to report the actual discount amount that was passed onto families during a week.
You can use a reasonable estimate when you do not have the information, including for:
- a family’s first session report
- state and territory preschool payments.
If you need to determine a reasonable estimate, it should be based on the most accurate information you have available at the time of submission. Your third-party software provider may already do this for you. Please contact them for more information.
First session report
A family’s CCS entitlement is only determined after the initial session report is processed. If you are submitting the first session report, you may not know the family’s gap fee.
If you do not know the family’s gap fee, it is reasonable to enter $0 as the estimated prescribed discount.
The statement of entitlement must still show the actual amount the prescribed discount reduced the family’s gap fee.
State and territory preschool payments
Many states and territories provide payments to reduce fees for children in the year before, or 2 years before, the first year of schooling. This is also called:
- 4-year-old preschool, or
- 3-year-old preschool.
Each state and territory decides how they pay prescribed preschool payments to providers.
Below are the 3 main types of payments and information on how to estimate the prescribed discount.
Set payment amount used for child’s gap fees first, surplus spent or returned according to state and territory funding rules
You’ll need to know the value of the family’s discount and need to cover the gap fee as outlined by the state or territory.
Generally, states and territories require payments to be made to family accounts regularly, rather than as a lump sum. There may be money left after gap fees have been fully reduced. You can use that surplus for other purposes, as outlined in the relevant state or territory guidelines.
These are examples of this type of payment:
Full gap fee covered for set number of preschool hours
You should use the family’s gap fee for their last processed session report to calculate the prescribed discount amount.
You must follow any rules set by your state and territory. This includes any rules that guide how:
- funding should be allocated across sessions in a week, and
- many weeks should be funded across a year.
The amount may differ from the final amount paid by your state or territory. This is because the CCS entitlement may change once the session report is processed.
Reporting prescribed discounts does not impact a family’s CCS entitlement, so you do not need to update the session report unless the CSS entitlement later changes. However, the statement of entitlement should show the actual amount the prescribed discount reduced the family’s gap fee.
These are examples of this type of payment:
Set payment amount with flexible use by provider
You’ll need to know the value of the family’s discount and you will need to decide how much goes toward gap fee relief.
Allocate the discount to sessions during the funding period, based on your state or territory’s rules.
These are examples of this type of payment: