Special bulletin 23 February | Huitanguru 2023
Extended funding settings for the regions affected by Cyclone Gabrielle
Absence funding
Early learning services may claim absence funding for children not in attendance if the service is open as normal. Services should mark the child as absent, and funding can be claimed for the booked hours of permanently enrolled children who are marked as absent. Funding may not be claimed for casually enrolled children who do not attend.
EC12 absence exemption: Frequent absence and continuous absence rules
Services in the regions affected by Cyclone Gabrielle can automatically apply an absence exemption for permanently enrolled children who are no longer eligible for funding due to breaking the frequent absence or continuous absence rules. This exemption can be applied directly in your student management system during the 13 February to 3 March 2023 period. When an absence exemption is applied, the frequent absence and three-week continuous absence rules are suspended. While the absence exemption is in place, funding can be claimed as normal for the booked hours of children with a permanent enrolment. Funding must not be claimed for children who have permanently left your service.
Dual enrolments
There may be cases where a child needs to attend a service other than their enrolled service. If the services are not operated by the same service provider, then both services can claim funding for that child. If a child needs to attend a different service operated by the same service provider, then only one service should claim funding for that child. To manage this requirement, we advise service providers to only claim funding at the child’s permanently enrolled service. Enrolment and attendance records should still be maintained at the service the child is attending. For any children temporarily attending a service, their enrolment agreement should contain a note explaining the temporary enrolment. For example, “[Child’s name] is attending this service due to the effects of Cyclone Gabrielle. [Child’s name] is also enrolled at [service name(s)] in the cyclone affected region”. If the child permanently enrols in the new service, the child’s enrolment should be updated to reflect the change. Funding should not be claimed if a child has permanently left your service.
New enrolments
Funding can be claimed for children from the agreed start date, as long as there is a completed enrolment agreement signed and dated prior to Monday 13 February. The requirement for a service to maintain a letter from a parent/guardian explaining the absence to claim funding for children who do not attend on their agreed start date has been removed for the Monday 13 February to Friday 3 March period. Funding must not be claimed if a parent/guardian unenrolls their child.