Bug-A-Lugs Holiday Care

Bug-A-Lugs educators are qualified, experienced, and committed to ongoing professional development. Our team includes teachers, diploma-qualified educators, and those actively working towards relevant qualifications in education and care. All educators hold current Police Checks, Working with Children Checks, and approved First Aid, Anaphylaxis Management, and Emergency Asthma Management qualifications in line with Australian Children’s Education & Care Quality Authority (ACECQA) requirements. In addition, all educators complete mandatory training in Protecting Children and Mandatory Reporting, and are supported to stay up to date with the Federal Child Safety reforms and the Child Safe Standards. This ensures our team maintains the highest level of knowledge, vigilance and commitment to keeping children safe and supported at all times.

Bug-A-Lugs provides care during school holidays and on pupil free days (depending on demand). Our holiday program includes a range of exciting incursions and excursions to keep children engaged and having fun. Program details will be shared through your child’s school and will also be available on the Bug-A-Lugs website approximately four weeks prior to commencement. Holiday care is provided at: • 3 Hoyle Court, Kyneton • Woodend Primary School Hall, Owen Street, Woodend

Holiday care fees are as follows: Woodend: $100 per day Kyneton: $130 per day Excursion and Incursion Days: $130 per day (before Child Care Subsidy) A $30 annual administration fee applies per family. Families may be eligible for the Child Care Subsidy (CCS). To receive your subsidy, please ensure you have completed your CCS assessment via your MyGov account and confirmed Bug-A-Lugs as your service. MyGov website(https://my.gov.au/) Bookings & Cancellations Bookings are essential and must be made via the My Family Lounge App. Due to staffing, ratios, and pre-booked activities, cancellations are not accepted once bookings are confirmed, and fees will apply. Refunds Refunds are not provided for booked days, including non-attendance. If an excursion or incursion is cancelled due to circumstances beyond our control (e.g. weather or provider availability), the program will be adjusted accordingly, and no refunds will be issued.

Enrolments are accepted in line with the Commonwealth Government priority of access guidelines. Please visit C(https://www.vic.gov.au/priority-access-policy-early-childhood-services)hild Care Subsidy (CCS) approved services (https://www.parkst.org.au/priority-of-access)for more information.

We are proud to have been rated as “Exceeding the National Quality Standard (NQS)” at our Kyneton and Woodend service, reflecting our commitment to providing high-quality care and education. The National Quality Standard (NQS) sets a national benchmark for early childhood education and care services across Australia. Services are assessed and rated by their regulatory authority against seven quality areas, which cover important aspects such as children’s health and safety, educational programs, staffing, and relationships with families. This assessment process ensures a consistent and transparent approach across all services and helps families make informed decisions about the quality of care available. Each service receives a rating for every quality area, as well as an overall rating. The rating levels are: • Excellent (which is awarded by ACECQA) • Exceeding NQS • Meeting NQS • Working Towards NQS • Significant Improvement Required For more information about the NQS and service ratings, please visit Starting Blocks.(http://www.startingblocks.gov.au/)

Login to MyGov and complete your online Child Care Subsidy Activity Test. You can estimate your subsidy on the website. Child Care Subsidy has now increased   From the 7th July 2023, most families using early childhood education and care (ECEC) will get more subsidy and more families are also now eligible for CCS.Changes include:  The family income limit to get CCS has increased to $530,000. • The maximum amount of CCS has increased from 85% to 90%. • Families earning $80,000 or less get a CCS rate of 90%. • Families earning over $80,000 get a CCS rate that decreases by 1% for each $5,000 of family income. This rate reaches 0% for families earning $530,000. • Families earning below $362,408 with more than one child aged 5 or under in care get a higher rate for their second and younger children. • Families with an Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait Islander child in their care can get at least 36 hours of subsidised care per fortnight, regardless of their circumstances.   What do families need to do?   Families already getting CCS don’t need to do anything to get the new rates. Services Australia is applying the changes automatically.   Families who earn between $356,756 and $530,000 may now be entitled to CCS. These families can lodge a CCS claim (https://msg.dese.gov.au/link/id/zzzz64ae41954a15d144Pzzzz60a5dbbe604fc476/page.html)with Services Australia.  Some families already using care may currently be assessed for CCS and get 0% but are now eligible for an increased rate. These families should check that their income estimate (https://msg.dese.gov.au/link/id/zzzz64ae41954b814232Pzzzz60a5dbbe604fc476/page.html)is up to date through their Centrelink online account.(https://msg.dese.gov.au/link/id/zzzz64ae41954d01e873Pzzzz60a5dbbe604fc476/page.html)  Families should tell Services Australia that they have an Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait Islander child in their care if they would like to get at least 36 hours of subsidised care.   Families can call Services Australia on the Centrelink families line (https://msg.dese.gov.au/link/id/zzzz64ae41954e73a539Pzzzz60a5dbbe604fc476/page.html)to let them know a child in their care is an Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait Islander person. It is voluntary to tell Services Australia this.   Families do not need to do anything if they already get more than 36 hours of subsidy based on their circumstances. Please note If your child has not attended child care for 8 continuous weeks, your enrolment will end. For example, this can happen if you only use vacation care during school holidays. Read what you need to do to restart your CCS Childcare subsidy calculator (https://www.startingblocks.gov.au/child-care-subsidy-calculator) To find out more information Call Family Assistance Office on 136 150 (8:00am-8:00pm) or visit ChildCare Subsidy - Services Australia(https://www.servicesaustralia.gov.au/child-care-subsidy)

Term 1: 28/01/2026 - 02/04/2026 Term 2: 20/04/2026 - 26/06/2026 Term 3: 13/07/2026 - 18/09/2026 Term 4: 05/10/2026 - 18/12/2026