If you are in this position, you may be eligible to apply for a funding review from the department.
What is a WRP funding review?
A WRP funding review is a process in which the Department of Education reassesses the funding a provider is allocated through the WRP. It is designed to accommodate for providers in unique circumstances, for whom the standard payment calculation method is not appropriate.
Am I eligible for a WRP funding review?
Firstly, to be eligible you must be a provider that is in receipt of the Worker Retention Payment (WRP). You cannot apply for a funding review before this stage of the grant.
Further, you must operate a service(s) that fulfils one or more of the below eligibility requirements:
- Service has a unique staffing profile, or
- Service has stand-alone jurisdiction-funded preschool rooms, or
- Service fits into definition of First Nations, is remote or very remote, or receives the Community Child Care Fund and has a unique operating model where session reporting is not used, or
- Service Provider cannot be provided consistent and smoothed funding by the Department across a financial year.(i.e, services that have intense seasonal occupancy fluctuations).
How do I apply?
To apply for a WRP funding review, you must first email your request to the CCS Help Desk at ccshelpdesk@education.gov.au.
The Help Desk team will then send you the relevant form to fill in and return to them accordingly. (This form is not publicly available)
Before contacting the Department, ACA recommends gathering the key information you’ll need for the application to help avoid processing delays. This ensures your request is complete and can be assessed more efficiently once it reaches the Department:
- Your relevant WRP application number(s)
- To be the person with management or control for the provider
- Your service CRN(s)
- Recently recorded Child Care Subsidy hours
- Total approximate Child Care Subsidy hours claimed in a past typical four week period*
- Total paid staff hours recorded in a past typical four week period*
- Evidence to support the above two totals
*You can select the date range you would like to provide this information for. It cannot fall within the current month or previous month.
You can only apply for up to 10 services at a time, per funding review application.
If you’re unsure where to start, you can contact ACA first, and we can guide you through what information to have ready so your request can be processed as promptly as possible.
Our team can be reached on 1300 856 379 or by email at wrp@childcarealliance.org.au
After you apply
The Department of Education will assess your eligibility against their criteria.
Please note that there is no estimated processing time for funding review applications, as each case is assessed individually.
