With the Federal Government's confirmation of the scheduled expiry of the Transition Payments arrangments this coming Sunday, 27 September 2020, and given COVID-19 is here to stay for a while longer, the question on the minds of every member of the Australian Childcare Alliance (ACA) NSW is ... "what funding safety nets are available if a hotspot rather than a second wave were to occur that negatively impacts in a significant enough level on attendances?"
The Federal Department of Education, Skills and Employment's Child Care Subsidy's Helpline did advise that the expiry of the Transition Payments arrangements this Sunday will effectively allow services to be able to apply for JobKeeper Payments (ie Extension 1 (28 September 2020 to 3 January 2021) and Extension 2 (4 January 2021 to 28 March 2021)) again but subject to the rules of the Australian Taxation Office (ATO).
That said, what is currently unknown are the following:
- Will the Transition Payments received till 27 September 2020 be considered by the ATO as part of the GST turnover test?
- Is the specific ATO ruling over early childhood education and care services that received Transition Payments and therefore excluding them from receiving JobKeeper still active?
- If early childhood education and care services are eligible for JobKeeper (2.0), will they be regarded as Qualifying Employers or Legacy Employers?
ACA NSW strongly recommends that members consult their financial advisers too regarding the above.
ACA is also seeking clarification from the Federal Department of Education, Skills and Employment about their Community Child Care Fund Special Circumstances programme (which is open to ALL services), in particular, what are its limitations. This will assist members when applying for financial assistance.
ACA NSW anticipates the above will be made clear(er) as quickly as possible.
Since 1 September 2020, Prime Minister Scott Morrison had previously highlighted the inconsistencies of state governments in their responses to COVID-19 "hotspots" as compared to much larger geographic areas that have Stage 3 and Stage 4 restrictions. In those "hotspots", state governments have not been known to declare local emergencies and hence the Federal Government has not been able to give those services in "hotspots" the already provisioned assistances.
While ACA NSW awaits for the NSW Government's response, ACA NSW is keenly aware that while we are all supporting our families and their children in care to the best of our abilities, negative changes in attendances due to COVID-19 "hotspots" can impact on services' abilities to also support their staff. Hence it is vital that all reasonable safety nets are in place and available.
PUBLISHED: 22 SEPTEMBER 2020