Early Childhood Education and Care (Strengthening Regulation of Early Education) Act 2025 (31 of 2025)

Schedule 1   Amendments

Part 5   Direct gap fee collection measures

Division 1   Amendments

A New Tax System (Family Assistance) (Administration) Act 1999

20   Subsections 201B(1), (1A) and (1B)

Repeal the subsections, substitute:

Duty to enforce payment of hourly session fees

(1) A provider to whom a notice is given of a fee reduction decision referred to in item 1 or 2 of the table in subsection 67EB(2) for an individual, for sessions of care provided by a child care service to a child in a week, must take all reasonable steps to ensure that:

(a) the individual pays the provider the amount referred to in subsection (1AB) of this section; and

(b) subject to any decision or direction of the Secretary under subsection (1A) or (1B) of this section applicable to the individual or the provider (as the case requires) - the individual makes the payment in accordance with subsection (1AA) of this section.

(1AA) For the purposes of paragraph (1)(b), a payment is made in accordance with this subsection in the following circumstances:

(a) for all providers - the payment is made using an electronic funds transfer system;

(b) for sessions of care provided by a family day care service or an in home care service - the payment is made:

(i) directly to the credit of a bank account that is nominated by the provider, and maintained directly by the provider or a person with management or control of the provider; or

(ii) using the payment gateway service, nominated by the provider, of a third party supplier of management software to the provider;

(c) for sessions of care provided by services other than a family day care service or an in home care service - the payment may be made using the payment gateway service, nominated by the provider, of a third party supplier of management software to the provider.

Amount to be paid

(1AB) The amount is the difference between:

(a) the total of the hourly session fees for all sessions of care provided by the service to the child in the week to which the fee reduction decision relates; and

(b) the sum of:

(i) the fee reduction amount for the decision; and

(ii) the amount of any payment prescribed by the Minister's rules for the purposes of paragraph 2(2A)(c) of Schedule 2 to the Family Assistance Act that the individual benefited from in respect of the sessions of care.

Note 1: If, under subsection 201BA(1), the provider allows the individual, or the individual's partner, a permissible staff discount for the week, the amount of the discount is not recoverable from the individual or the individual's partner: see subsection 201BA(3).

Note 2: If, under subsection 201BB(1), the provider allows the individual, or the individual's partner, a discount in relation to a session of care provided to the child in the week, the amount of the discount is not recoverable from the individual or the individual's partner: see subsection 201BB(3).

Exceptions to requirements for making payments

(1A) If the Secretary is satisfied that circumstances prescribed by the Minister's rules exist in relation to a particular individual, the Secretary may decide that one or both of the requirements referred to in paragraph (1AA)(a) or (b) of this section do not apply to the individual.

(1B) If the Secretary is satisfied that exceptional circumstances exist in relation to a particular child care service, the Secretary may direct that one or both of the requirements referred to in paragraph (1AA)(a) or (b) of this section do not apply to the making of a payment of all, or a part, of an amount to the provider of the service.