Family Day Care

Family Day Care is a registered service providing home-based childcare for a small group of children, aged from 6 weeks to 12 years old.

It is approved by the Australian Government and eligible for Child Care Subsidy. It is also licensed by state governments.

The service provides flexible hours and small groups with planned programs focused on helping children develop a sense of confidence, connect with their community and develop social skills.

The Family Day Care service offers:

full-time and part-time care
outside school hours care
school holiday care
respite care.

In 2023 City of Whittlesea Family Day Care was rated as exceeding the National Quality Standard under the National Quality Framework. The National Quality Standard (NQS) sets a national benchmark for the quality of children’s education and care services across Australia.

Find a Family Day Care near you

Locate Family Day Care Educators in your local area using our interactive map.

View the list of Family Day Cares in the City of Whittlesea.(PDF, 201KB)

Family Day Care Educators

Family Day Care Educators are qualified early childhood education and care professionals.

All Educators:

hold qualifications in Certificate III in Children’s Services or in a higher childcare qualification
have experience in working in the sector
provide a safe, hygienic, secure and smoke-free childcare environment
hold a current first aid certificate, anaphylaxis and asthma training
undertake a National Police Record Check and Working with Children Check
provide developmentally appropriate programs for children
represent the cultural diversity of the local community
sub-contract to Council under a license agreement.

Family Day Care Educators are also supported by Council’s Coordination Unit, who are responsible for approving, supporting, training and monitoring educators.

Family Day Care Educator profiles

Download and view details of the current Family Day Care Educators registered with City of Whittlesea.

Apply for Family Day Care

If you would like your child/ren to attend Family Day Care, you will need to register your interest for a placement.

Once a request for care is received, the Family Day Care Coordination Unit will contact you to confirm your days required and educator availability.

All perspective families are encouraged to request a tour of Family Day Care Educators home before confirming care arrangements. This is a very important step in the process of finding the right program for your child. It gives you the opportunity to see the home, meet the educator, discuss vacancies & fees, as well as ask any questions you may have.

When a Family Day Care placement is offered and confirmed with an educator, an enrolment form will be sent to the parent/guardian’s email. This form must be completed before care can begin.

To finalise the enrolment process, an annual registration fee is charged per child in line with Council's Fees and Charges. The enrolment fee helps subsidise the cost of support and training provided to Educators throughout the year.

Coordination Unit

The Coordination Unit is a team of qualified early childhood professionals and administration staff who are responsible for supporting, resourcing and monitoring educators and the service they provide.

The Coordination Unit provides:

responsive support and information to parents and educators
mentoring and professional guidance to educators to meet National Quality Standards, National Law and Regulations, and National Quality Standards
help to all families in choosing an educator
regular visits to the educators’ homes offering ongoing professional training, resources and support.

Fees and Child Care Subsidy

Fees for Family Day Care are charged at an hourly rate and are set independently by individual educators under Council’s guidance.

You may be eligible for Child Care Subsidy after Centrelink assess the following:

your family’s income
the hourly rate cap based on the type of approved childcare you use and your child’s age
the hours of activity/work you and your partner do.

The amount of subsidised childcare you can access per fortnight applies to each child.

To find out if you are eligible:

Visit the Services Australia website
Call 13 61 50 between 8 am and 8 pm (local time) Monday to Friday
Visit a service centre (located in Medicare offices and Centrelink Service Centres).