In Home Care is a flexible form of child care which enables families with unusual work, location or care requirements to access approved child care in their own home.

Recent Government initiatives have expanded the availability of in-home care and funding has been increased to enable more families to access the service.

In-home care is available to families who are unable to access standard child care services and/or families in unusual circumstances.

Is my family eligible?

To be eligible for In Home Care, families must have no access to existing child care services and/or their circumstances mean that an existing child care service cannot meet their needs. Families must also meet one or more of the following criteria:

• Families with a parent or parents with a chronic illness or disability
• Families with a child or children with a chronic illness or disability
• Families in rural and remote parts of Australia
• Families where the parent/s work non-standard hours or do shift work

Please note that the Department of Social Services (DHS) will also consider applications for in-home care from families with unusual circumstances not covered by the list above.

In-Home Care Educators provide children with the same opportunities to participate in a variety of supervised activities as in main stream childcare. This means your child will have the opportunity to participate in supervised activities they might not be able to do ordinarily such as arts and crafts, games and outdoor play or after school activities.

In-Home Care Providers are responsible for ensuring that the Educators registered with them have the appropriate knowledge, skills and experience to provide families with a high quality care experience in an environment which is healthy and safe for both the children and the educator. Educators are self-employed, registered and supported by the Service Provider. Prospective Educators must attend an induction session with the service and all educators will have or be working towards Early Childhood qualifications.

Families who are able to access In-Home care are eligible for CCS