6 years ago
SOFTWARE GLITCH LEAVES PROVIDERS AND FAMILIES IN THE DARK
THE HON AMANDA RISHWORTH MP
Only days since its inception, and providers and families alike are reeling at mess that is the Turnbull Government’s new child care system.
Providers who are trying to administer the changes are unable to access the Provider Entry Point (PEP) which is used to access the Child Care Subsidy System (CCSS) for the administration of the Child Care Subsidy (CCS).
This is just another bungle which providers and families have had to face with the new changes.
This is despite the Minister providing certainty that his systems would be ready earlier this year in Senate Estimates;
“I do certainly have a high degree of confidence that we are well placed for a full and successful launch of the new childcare subsidy and the associated IT services across the board on 2 July.” Simon Birmingham, Thursday, 31 May 2018
Families and providers who signed up weeks ago are still waiting for Centrelink to process their paperwork or software that can’t connect.
Even for those families and providers who have signed up in the last couple of days, there are suggestions that they will have to wait up to 28 days for Centrelink to process their new registrations.
Providers are essentially being told to get in line and wait, and that families are not eligible for support during this time, as this communication from the Department of Education and Training shows:
The Department of Education and Training will decide on each application as soon as possible, but is not required to do this in a set period of time. Please note that the Department is currently experiencing a high volume of CCS Application submissions and an Assessment Officer will be in contact once the Application has been assessed.
You should also be aware that families who use your service during this time are not eligible for CCS. Families’ eligibility for CCS will not commence until your application for approval is successful.
Despite giving reassurances that his system would be ready, families and providers are fighting an IT system which isn’t ready leaving many frustrated and potentially out of pocket.
This is just another example of the Turnbull Government’s mishandling of this transition.
The Minister must front up and fix this mess immediately.