Frequently Asked Questions

To access myGov and confirm your enrolment, you must confirm your eligibility for Child Care Subsidy (CCS). You can do this in four key steps:

1. Register for CCS on myGov
2. Confirm activity hours
3. Confirm enrolment
4. Double check your CCS eligibility.

If you need further assistance, please follow this App Quick Reference Guide. or if you're using the website, Website Quick Reference Guide. Alternatively, you can contact our Customer Service and Billing team on 1300 612 462.

Q1: How will the Child Care Subsidy (CCS) be paid?

A: CCS is paid directly to Helping Hands Network so families only pay the difference between the subsidy and the fee charged. This ensures there are no additional out of pocket fees. You will need to complete an assessment for CCS before each child starts attending care.

Q2: What is a a Complying Written Agreement (CWA)?

A: A CWA is an ongoing agreement between an Early Childhood Education Centre (ECEC) service provider and a Parent/Guardian to provide care in return for fees. A CWA is required to access CCS funding. You can view the status of your CWA via your myGov account.

Q3: Why am I being charged full fees?

A: There are a few reasons a family might be charged full fees:

1. You have not started or fully completed your myGov assessment
2. You have declined to accept your CWA in myGov
3. Your household income is above $350 000 and is not entitled to CCS.

If these do not apply to you, please contact our Customer Service and Billing team on 1300 612 462 or contact Centrelink for further information.

Q4: I haven’t had an opportunity to complete the myGov assessment, will I be charged full fees?

A: Yes. You must complete your myGov assessment to access CCS entitlements. If you have an incomplete assessment please ensure that you:

1. Link your Centrelink account with your myGov account
2. Provide the correct Customer Registration Number (CRN) & date of birth for both you and your child
3. Ensure the correct parent/guardian is the account holder

Q5: I have been charged full fees, can this be reversed when I have completed by CCS eligibility through myGov?

A: If eligble, we may be able to backdate your subsidy for up to 28 days. 

Any entitled fee changes will be applied and shown on your statement of entitlement.

Q6: My Complying Written Agreement (CWA) has a 'Pending' status. What do I need to do?  

A: A 'Pending' status requires you to log on to your myGov account and complete your assessment. Once you have completed your assessment, CCS will be backdated to the start of your CCS enrolment.

You will be charged full fees unless this is completed.

Q7: My Complying Written Agreement (CWA) has a 'disputed' or 'rejected' status. What do I need to do? 

A: Contact our Customer Service and Billing team on 1300 612 462 and we will resubmit your CWA. You will then need to confirm your details via your myGov account. 

You will be charged full fees unless this is completed.

Every program is tailored to the individual needs of the community and children who attend. This is done by our experienced team within the service who create a program from the ground up.

Helping Hands Network is proud of our Whole of Child philosophy that underpins everything we do within the company. This ensures that every decision we make is in the best interest of the children and embodies our values of:

• Creativity & Learning
• Inclusion & Participation
• Wellbeing & Happiness.

We support our team in their program creation with over 5000 fun and engaging activity ideas and hands on support from their Regional Operations Manager.

These activities can range from arts and crafts to science and sports. We also provide incursions and excursions during the Holiday Program that have been directly requested from the children attending.

We recommend contacting your Service Coordinator to find out more on the activities we provide.

Helping Hands Network team members are qualified as per National Quality Framework and Legislated Regulations and have demonstrated experience in working at OSHC services.

These qualifications are commonly:

• Diploma of Children Services (OSHC)
• Certificate III or IV in Children Services
• Diploma or bachelor’s degree in Teaching for Primary School Aged children
• And so many more.

All team members employed by Helping Hands Network must provide the appropriate security checks before they are accepted.

On employment, all team members must provide a copy of a valid Working with Children Check (WWCC), which we verify through the Department of Justice website.

Educators must also complete their qualifications in First Aid, Anaphylaxis, Asthma, CPR and Child Protection Training before working within our services.

We also provide opportunities for our team to improve on their skills and progress within the company with an internal LMS and external training based off the requirements of the community.

We have a simple checklist here to help you enrol.

If you require any further assistance, call our Customer Service and Billing team on 1300 612 462.

Each medical condition is dealt with individually with Medical Management Plans that are created by your Medical Practitioner. 

You must provide this Medical Management Plan prior to your child’s attendance so our team can properly cater to their needs and prepare any further documentation to ensure their safety.

You can find all Medical Management Plans here:

Asthma (all states except Victoria)

Asthma Action Plan (use in Victoria only)

Action Plan for Anaphylaxis (generic)

Action Plan for Anaphylaxis (EpiPen)

Action Plan for Anaphylaxis (Anapen)

Action Plan for Allergic Reactions

For any other medical conditions, please submit a Medical Management Plan that has been endorsed by your child’s Medical Practitioner.

Please note that these Medical Management Plans must be within 12 months, stamped and signed by your Medical Practitioner, and be in colour.

For Before, After School Care and Holiday Program sessions, we provide a healthy, tasty and nutritious selection of food for breakfast and afternoon tea.

Each service offers different foods based off the interests of the children, so we recommend contacting your Service Coordinator to discuss further.

Every service has a feedback or suggestion book; however, we encourage direct dialogue with program coordinators and staff.

We also conduct a formal parent survey twice a year and use that information to ensure we are delivering on our promises.

You can also contact our Customer Service and Billing team on 1300 612 462.

All late collections should be communicated with the Service Coordinator.

They will remain at the service with your child, but if they have not been in contact with you prior to the service closing, they will contact you and your emergency contacts to arrange a safe collection of your child.

All late collections are individually assessed based off the circumstances of the instance, but we do charge a late collection fee of $1 per minute per family as a deterrent to respect our team and their time and safety.

If this late collection was an emergency or out of your control, we recommend calling the Customer Service and Billing team on 1300 612 462. 

Helping Hands Network parents and guardians can use iParent Portal to:

• Self-manage child care bookings
• View customer account statements
• View current account balance
• Manage payment details
• View reminders and notifications
• Manage account details.

For instructions on how to navigate iParent Portal refer to this Quick Reference Guide.

If you have any queries or require further assistance, please contact your Service Coordinator or call our Customer Service & Billing team on 1300 612 462.

Permanent bookings are for families who require regular sessions for their children and can book in a weekly or fortnightly pattern. Reference this Quick Reference Guide for further help in booking. This information must be confirmed through your myGov account to receive the correct Child Care Subsidy (CCS) and avoid paying full fees.

Casual bookings are for families who book sessions as they require and do not need to perform any regular bookings. This information also needs to be provided to myGov.

You can use the iParent Portal to cancel or change the booking.

When cancelling, you have the option to cancel an individual booking or all bookings within a date range.

If you need to make cancellations for multiple children, you will need to make the cancellations for each child separately.

If you are outside the date range, we recommend calling the Service Coordinator or Customer Service and Billing team on 1300 612 462.

If you have requested a booking for a particular day or session type and you can’t see the booking in your calendar view, then we have been unable to confirm this booking.

This could be for a number of reasons including:

• The day or session type is full, and we are unable to accept any more bookings
• The day or session type is not available

Please check the dates and session type. If you are still experiencing issues, please contact your Service Coordinator or call our Customer Service and Billing team on 1300 612 462.

If you have more than one child, you will need to book each child separately. To make these bookings please follow the steps outlined in this Quick Reference Guide.

There is a booking cut-off time that will prevent parents/guardians from being able to book online.

Bookings can still be made within this cut-off period by contacting your Service Coordinator or call our Customer Service and Billing team on 1300 612 462.

The Holiday Program may not be finalised. Once it is, parents will receive a flyer that details the activities available each day and the associated fees for the incursions and excursions.

Once you have received this communication, you will be able to book your children into the required days.

If you are still experiencing issues, please contact your Service Coordinator or call our Customer Service and Billing team on 1300 612 462.

Please contact your Service Coordinator or call our Customer Service and Billing team on 1300 612 462.