Start Strong for Long Day Care fee relief data submission

Approved providers of services funded under the 2023 Start Strong for Long Day Care program are required to submit fee relief data for the 1 July to 31 December 2023 period. Find out more on preparing and submitting your service's fee relief data.

The fee relief data submission for the 1 July to 31 December 2023 period is now open in Early Childhood Contract Management System (ECCMS) and will close on the 22 March 2024.

Your fee relief data submission will enable the department to:

  • assess the number of eligible children receiving fee relief at services
  • calculate fee relief funding adjustments for services
  • evaluate the Start Strong for Long Day Care program.

How to submit your service's fee relief data

  • Download the fee relief submission report for 1 July to 31 December 2023 from your service’s software.
  • Check your service’s fee relief submission data file for 1 July to 31 December 2023 has the required data (PDF 69.3 KB).

Your service's fee relief submission should include:

  • data only for the period 1 July to 31 December 2023: the fee relief payment end date for all children must be up to 31 December 2023, unless the child stopped receiving fee relief from your service before 31 December 2023. The department uses the whole period to determine if you require a fee relief adjustment.
  • all required dates: for example, all children’s date of births and the date/week of first/last fee relief payment must be completed.
  • no typos: for example, check that the dates of births are valid for example, 01/01/2008 or 01/01/1918 are not valid birth dates. Only children 4 on or before 31 July 2023 are eligible for fee relief funding. Dates must be in DD/MM/YYYY format.
  • only consented personal information: yes, or equivalent, must be entered next to every child’s record in your fee relief data. Blanks, the word no, or completely missing this field indicates the child’s information is unconsented. If your data contains any unconsented data, the department cannot use it to determine if your service/s require fee relief funding adjustment.
  • data only in the format requested: Start Strong fee relief data submission guide provides information and examples of the required data. The videos on our website data submission resources can also assist.
  • Submit your service’s fee relief data for 1 July to 31 December 2023 in ECCMS. The fee relief data submission will now have a status of submitted and cannot be changed unless you contact the department.
  1. If you are the SP-Admin user for the approved provider, log in to ECCMS using your myGovID. Note: the SP-Admin user is the only user able to submit fee relief data.
  2. On the ECCMS menu, click Funding Specification.
  3. Filter for Start Strong for Long Day Care funding specifications and click on the funding specification ending in “-SSL” that you need to submit fee relief data for.
  4. Click on the Data Submission tab and then on the 01Jul-31Dec row. This will display a pop-up window with further instructions.
  5. Enter your service’s operating weeks in the designated text field labelled Operating weeks.
  6. Click on Add Document. A pop-up window will appear, giving you the option to choose the file you wish to upload.
  7. Upload the fee relief data submission file.
  8. Read the content displayed, and then click on the checkbox located under the declaration.
  9. Click on the Submit button to finalise the fee relief data submission process.

Declaration forms

In 2023, parents/carers/guardians were required to complete a declaration form at your service that:
  • nominated the service they claimed fee relief from
  • consented to their child’s information being provided to the department.

You can only submit data for the children where parent/carer/guardian consent is obtained through completed declaration and consent forms (PDF 625 KB).

Update January to June 2023 fee relief data submission

Since late 2023, services have been receiving Fee Relief Adjustment Payments using January to June 2023 fee relief data. The department is finalising the remaining January to June 2023 fee relief data submissions and resubmissions and contacting service providers with outcomes.

The department expects to advise remaining service providers of the outcome of their service’s January to June 2023 fee relief data from April 2024.

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