Last updated: 23 October 2023

Purpose

For parents to gain a clear understanding of Bambini’s fee policy ensuring children’s fees are paid in accordance with our terms and conditions and the processes around failure to pay fees on time.

Bambini fee structure includes:

1. Enrolment Fee & Bond Payment

• Effective 16th August 2022, in order to secure a place, a $300 refundable bond payment per child is required.
• Effective 16th August 2022, a $100.00 non-refundable administration fee is also payable per family.
• The bond payment will be refunded to families after the last date of care and when all accounts are paid in full and no amounts are outstanding, including CCS payments.

2. General Fees

• Fees are charged at a set daily rate.
• Each family’s fee amount vary depending on the family’s eligibility for the Child Care Subsidy (CCS) provided by the Australian Government.
• The Child Care Subsidy will be paid directly to Bambini on the family’s behalf. The family will be required to pay the ’gap’ being the difference between Bambini stated fee and Child Care Subsidy.
• Eligibility criteria for the Child Care Subsidy is available at https://www.servicesaustralia.gov.au/child-care-subsidy
• Fees are payable weekly in advance.
• Families are charged for all days their child is booked into Bambini irrespective of their attendance due to illness, family holidays or public holidays.
• Fees are to be paid weekly via a direct debit payment service.
• Fees are charged on a full-day basis, regardless of the hours attended.
• Casual days are charged at the same rate as permanently booked days. 48hr cancellation notice required.

3. Holiday Fee Discount

• Bambini offers 2 weeks of Holiday Fees Discount per child on a pro rata basis based on their booked attendance, per calendar year.
• A Holiday Fee Discount is a 50% reduction off the regular daily fee. The net fee payable by a family will be equal to the Holiday Fee less their Child Care Subsidy.
• To apply for the Holiday Fee Discount, a written request must be sent to the Centre Manager stating the inclusive dates they wish to have the discount applied.
• Families must attend for a minimum of 6 months, before holiday fees can be utilised.
• A Holiday Discount can not be applied during the termination notice period.

4. Sibling Fee Discount

• Bambini offers a discount when more than one child from the same family are in the same service.
  The discount is applied as below:
  • For families with two children, a $10 per day discount will be applied to the older child.
  • For families with three children, a $20 per day discount will be applied to the oldest child, $10 per day discount applied to the middle child.

5. Public Holidays

• Fees apply to all gazetted Public Holiday expect for Christmas Day, Boxing Day and New Year’s Day.

6. Payment of Fees

• Fees are payable using payment gateway provided by an unrelated third-party service.
• All merchant fees associated with the family account payment are charged to the family. These fees include but not limited to credit card fees, direct debit fees, dishonour fees as well as dispute fees.
• A dishonor fee will apply for direct debit transactions where there are insufficient funds to cover the fees. This fee is not charged by Bambini but by the direct debit service provider.
• Your statement will be available on the Parent Communication App.
• Fees will be reflected on parents’ bank statement as payments made to “YORK MANAGEMENT SERVICES”. York Management Services is the management and administration entity within the Bambini Group.

7. Late Fees

• If a child is collected after the service closing time, a late fee will apply. A fee of $15.00 per 10 minutes block and part thereof will be charged.
• This late charge will be added to the family fee account for payment.

8. Failure to Pay

• If a family fails to pay the required fees on time, a reminder will be issued after one week and then again after two weeks.
  Where the fees are still outstanding, a child’s position may be terminated or suspended.
• If payment has not been made after three weeks, the child’s position will be terminated. At this time Bambini will also initiate its debt collection procedure.

9. Financial Difficulties

• If a family is experiencing financial difficulties, they may be eligible for additional Child Care Subsidy (ACCS) through Centrelink.
• Should you experience financial difficulties please advise your Centre Manager and Bambini can assist you in the application of the additional government support.

10. Change of Fees

• Fees are subject to review at any time.
• Bambini will provide a minimum of 4 weeks written notice of any change to our fees.

11. Changes or Reduction of Booked Days

• Where a change is required to a child’s booked days, 2 weeks’ written notice must be provided to the Centre Manager.

12. Termination of Enrolment

• Parents are required to provide 2 weeks written notice of their intention to terminate their child’s position at Bambini.
• The child is required to attend their 2 weeks’ notice period to be eligible for CCS entitlements otherwise full fee is payable. More information on CCS Cessation of Care is available at https://www.servicesaustralia.gov.au/child-care-subsidy-if-your-child-absent-from-child-care?context=41186

Bambini Terms and Conditions are subject to updates at any time.