The IHC Support Agency is operated under a brokerage model. Although within Tasmania a no wrong door approach is taken, you will always be referred to the IHC Support Agency in the first instance.

Phone 1300 052 057 or email info@ihcsupportagencytas.com.au

The IHC Support Agency will require notification of the relationship to the family of the referrer and permissions to provide the information required to assess eligibility. An application form is available on the website for completion.

IHC Support Agencies will match eligible families to approved services (services approved for the Child Care Subsidy as IHC Services under the family assistance law) and recommend to the department the number of places to be allocated to each service. The department will take into account these recommendations in allocating IHC places to services.

IHC Services will be responsible for the actual service delivery. Broadly, this will involve engaging a qualified educator, undertaking home inspections, monitoring service delivery and undertaking Child Care Subsidy related activities such as submission of child care attendance records and making Additional Child Care Subsidy claims.

While the IHC Support Agencies will provide general support and professional development opportunities to educators, IHC Services will be responsible for their employment arrangements including verifying the necessary documentary evidence relating to qualifications and checks.

If eligible for CCS, the IHC Support Agency will assess your eligibility for the IHC program through the development of a Family Management Plan. Once completed the plan is referred to the IHC Service Provider. The IHC Service Provider will match your family to an educator. This can take a minimum of two weeks and more, depending on educator availability. You will remain on the IHC Support Agency waitlist until your needs can be met or circumstances change.

The Child Care Subsidy for IHC will be based on a family hourly rate cap of $32.00 per hour (indexed annually).

The percentage of the subsidy to which the family is entitled will be based on the family’s combined adjusted taxable income and will be up to 85 per cent of the actual fee charged or 85 per cent of the family hourly rate cap, whichever is lower. Families are required to pay the remainder of the fee.

The number of hours of subsidised care per fortnight a family is entitled to is determined by the Child Care Subsidy activity test result. A family may require and be eligible for up to 100 hours of subsidised care per fortnight.

Please note that the subsidy rate cap is applied to the educator/service fee and therefore you may incur an additional gap fee above the department’s capped amount per hour. Any additional costs involved in care e.g. transport, are to be negotiated between the family and the educator and is not subject to Government subsidy.

There may be instances where a family finds an educator to provide IHC. To be able to provide subsidised IHC, the educator must be engaged by an IHC service and meet the requirements for IHC including qualification requirements. In such cases, the relevant IHC Support Agency may be able to assist the families by advocating their needs with the relevant IHC service(s).

IHC educators must not be a family member, and not provide care for relatives; including nieces, nephews, cousins and grandchildren and great grandchildren.

Generally, IHC educators must not be a family member. There are exemptions for IHC educators providing IHC in very remote areas. Further information on this exemption will be detailed in the IHC Handbook.

One of the key elements of the new IHC policy is a renewed focus on early childhood education and care. To ensure the quality of care and national consistency in service delivery, IHC educators will be required to have, as a minimum, a Certificate III in a relevant course or provide documentary evidence that they are working towards such a qualification.