Child care

Family Day Care

Merri-bek Family Day Care is an approved early childhood education and care service that is offered in the homes of registered Family Day Care Educators. The service is available for children aged from birth to 12 years of age. The service is rated as Exceeding National Quality Standard as part of the National Quality Assessment and Rating Process.

Family Day Care Educators are experienced and qualified early childhood professionals who provide high-quality care and education for children in their own homes. Ongoing support, training, and monitoring are provided by our Coordination Unit.

Family Day Care offers flexible arrangements and care provided includes:

outside business hours
weekends
before and after school/kindergarten
during school holidays.

Family Day Care helps children develop confidence and social skills, and connects them with their local community.

You can contact our Family Day Care Coordination Unit on 9240 2300 or by emailing FamilyDayCare@merri-bek.vic.gov.au to find out more.

Apply for Family Day Care

You can register for Family Day Care by emailing our Central Registration Service with your child care requirements: earlyyearsregistrations@merri-bek.vic.gov.au

You can read our Family Day Care Information Handbook (PDF 8Mb) for more information about Family Day Care.

Are you interested in becoming a Family Day Care educator?

Family Day Care Educators:
- can choose their days and hours of work
- receive extensive support from the Coordination Unit
- earn an income while giving back to the community
If you would like to become a Family Day Care Educator, you will need to have a Certificate 3 in Children's Services (or higher).

With support from our Coordination Unit, you'll provide quality care and learning in a safe, nurturing environment. A commitment of at least 3 days per week for 12 months is required.

Before applying, please view role description:
- Prospective Educator Role Description (PDF 237Kb)
- Prospective Educator Application Form (PDF 325Kb)
You can also read the Guide for Family Day Care Educators on the Education Victoria website.

For further information please contact the Coordination Unit on 9240 2300 or email familydaycare@merri-bek.vic.gov.au.
Below you will find the documents that cover the fees, policies and procedures that apply to Family Day Care operators.

Documents:
Additional websites that you can refer to for supports and resources around Family Day Care include:
- The Family Day Care Australia website
- Child Care Subsidy Information on the Services Australia website

Meet Hilary, a Family Day Care educator

Hilary provides flexible hours of care from her home for small groups of children aged from birth to 12 years, ideal for families working shift work or requiring weekend and overnight care.

This video has captions you can turn on and off using the video controls.

Children's centres (child care)

Children's Centres (also known as Long Day Care) provide early learning programs for children 0-6 years. Age-appropriate programs are offered to all the children focusing on their interests and developmental needs. Funded Kindergarten is also provided in the Long Day Care setting.

What is kindergarten?

Kindergarten (also called preschool) is a play‑based learning program for 3‑ and 4‑year‑old children. Play‑based learning helps children develop independence, confidence, and social and emotional skills through activities such as exploring, creating, problem‑solving, and building relationships.

Learn more about the benefits of kindergarten at Best Start, Best Life.

Choosing between sessional or integrated kindergarten

Kindergarten is delivered in 2 ways, as sessional or integrated kindergarten. Sessional kindergarten has shorter, set kindergarten sessions. Integrated kindergarten happens in Early Learning Centres (Child Care) and includes both kinder and all‑day care. Check the information below to see what best suits your family before registering.

Note: Barry Beckett Children’s Centre offers both integrated and sessional kindergarten programs.

Integrated kindergarten is a kindergarten program that runs inside an Early Learning Service (child care).
- Children can stay for a full day of care.
- Children can arrive early and stay later, depending on the centre’s hours.
- The kinder program is taught by a qualified early childhood teacher during the day.
- Fees are managed by the Early Learning Service.
  Suits families who do not have flexible working or care arrangements.
- Children can attend all year round. No school holidays.
  Council does not manage Early Learning Centres.
Sessional kindergarten runs for set hours during the day. Children attend the kindergarten program only.
- Children attend 15 hours of kinder each week. This is usually offered as set sessions, such as 3 × 5‑hour sessions or 2 × 7.5‑hour sessions.
- Children go home at the end of the session. Families organise care outside of session times.
- The kindergarten program is taught by a qualified early childhood teacher.
- Sessional kindergarten is free — you will not pay fees.
- Suits families who have flexible working or care arrangements.
- Children will have school holidays that closely follow primary school.
- Council does not manage the kindergartens or organise the group sessions.
You can register for sessional kindergarten and find more information on our Kindergarten page.
Child care centre fees will depend on how often your child is in care and the types of services you wish to pay for. It is best to speak directly to the centre your child will attend about this.

You may be able to claim the claim the Child Care Subsidy to reduce the cost of child care.

Contact Services Australia for eligibility enquires

Apply for Early Years Services (Child Care)

We have an agreement with Family Day Care and a number of early learning centres in Merri-bek to take registrations for places on their behalf. This means booking a place for your child is fair, accessible and easy. You can find out which services are connected with our Central Registration System in our List of children's services part of the Central Registration System (PDF 387Kb)

If the service you want to apply with is not part of our Central Registration System, you will need to apply directly through the service. You can see which services are not part of this system in our List of children's services outside of the Central Registration System (PDF 376Kb)

Applying for a place in a service is free. Make sure you read the below sections on supporting documentation so that you have everything you need before you apply.

Before applying for a place in a service, please read the sections below on what supporting documentation is required.

Register for an Early Years Service (Long Day Care) using our new registration system below.

Register for an Early Years Service (LDC)
Fill in our Early years (child care) application form (PDF 360Kb) and:
- email your completed form to Early Years Registration: earlyyearsregistrations@merri-bek.vic.gov.au
- mail your completed form to the Early Years Registration Officer Merri-bek City Council, Locked Bag 10, Brunswick 3056, or
- submit your completed form in-person at a Customer Services Centre.
If you are applying prior to your child's birth, please contact Council on 9240 2358.

Supporting documentation

Child’s birth certificate, passport, immunisation history statement, or immigration document.

If you do not have any supporting documentation, please contact Council on 9240 2358.
_{A recent document with your name and street address:}
- _{Rates notice}
- _{Property contract of sale (section with name of purchaser and address)}
- _{Tenancy agreement}
- _{Utility bill}
- _{Driver licence}
- _{Home or car insurance receipt}
- _{Medicare or Centrelink letter}
_{If you are a student from overseas and live in Merri-bek, and do not have any of these documents, provide a letter from a college or university to verify your address.}
_{If you work or study in Merri-bek, a letter or invoice from your employer or education provider, or copy of student card.}
A visa or immigrant document.
Support letter from a medical professional or community health service.
_{If you are employed, a letter or payslip from your employer.}

_{If you are self-employed, a recent BAS statement or other proof.}

_{If you are studying, a copy of your student card or fee invoice.}
Upload an intervention, parental or custodial order document.

Occasional child care in Merri-bek

We offer occasional child care for children aged 3 months to 6 years in neighbourhood houses and leisure centres in Merri-bek. Occasional care is available for up to 3 hours per session or 15 hours per week.

Occasional care can be helpful if you need child care for short periods of time or at irregular times, such as when you have to:

attend an appointment
attend fitness classes
need to study, or
need a rest from full-time parenting.

Occasional care is a licensed service and regulated by the Victorian 'Children's Services Act and Children's Services Regulations'.

Occasional child care locations

To book occasional care, you need to contact one of the below centres directly. The fees and available hours vary at each centre.

Brunswick Neighbourhood House is located at 18 Garden Street, Brunswick.

You can find out more about their occasional care service on the Brunswick Neighbourhood House website.
Coburg Leisure Centre is located at Bridges Reserve on Bell Street, Coburg.

You can find out more about their occasional care service on our Active Merri-bek website.
Fawkner Leisure Centre is located at 79-83 Jukes Road, Fawkner.

You can find out more about their occasional care service on our Active Merri-bek website.

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