Fees and practical information for Bright Buds families
Everything you need to know as a Bright Buds family: our fees, the Child Care Subsidy and free three-year-old preschool, what to pack, and when your child needs to stay home.
Before the Child Care Subsidy. One fee for a full day, 7.00 am to 6.00 pm, whatever time your child arrives and leaves.
- Meals: morning tea, lunch, afternoon tea and a late snack, cooked on site
- Milk for bottles and at meal times
- Nappies and wipes
- Sunscreen
- Bed linen for rest time
- Storypark online learning portfolio and daily updates
Clear, fair and no surprises
- No bond or enrolment fee. Instead, two weeks of fees are charged in advance at orientation. They cover your final two weeks when you leave with notice, and any credit is refunded.
- Full days on fixed days each week. Fees are charged for full sessions, whatever hours your child attends on the day.
- Absences and public holidays. Fees apply for booked days when your child is away, including public holidays, as your place is held for you.
- Two weeks' written notice to reduce days or leave.
- Four weeks' notice of any fee change, which is more than the 14 days the regulations require.
Full details are in our Payment of Fees Policy, which we give every family before they accept a place.
How the Child Care Subsidy works
The Child Care Subsidy (CCS) is an Australian Government payment that reduces the fees you pay. It is paid directly to us and comes straight off your account, so you only pay the difference, called the gap fee.
How much you get
Your CCS percentage depends on your family income. For 2026–27, families earning up to $88,520 receive the maximum 90%. The rate falls by 1% for every $5,000 of income above that, reaching 0% at $538,520.
Second and younger children aged 5 or under can receive a higher rate of up to 95% when family income is under $370,727. Services Australia applies this automatically.
The 3 Day Guarantee
Since 5 January 2026, every CCS-eligible family gets at least 72 hours of subsidised care a fortnight, which covers three days a week, whatever your work or study hours.
Families can receive up to 100 hours a fortnight if both parents (or a single parent) do more than 48 hours of work, study or volunteering a fortnight, and for every Aboriginal or Torres Strait Islander child. The guarantee covers subsidised hours; it does not guarantee a place.
The hourly rate cap
CCS is paid on your fee or the government's hourly rate cap, whichever is lower. For 2026–27 the cap for long day care is $15.19 an hour for children below school age.
A day at Bright Buds is an 11-hour session (7.00 am to 6.00 pm), so CCS is worked out on up to $150 of each day. Services Australia also withholds 5% of your CCS until you balance it at the end of the financial year.
How to apply
Claim through myGov
Sign in to myGov, open your Centrelink online account and choose Make a claim, then Families, then Apply for Family Assistance Payments and claim Child Care Subsidy. Centrelink may ask for supporting documents.
Give us your CRNs
We need the Customer Reference Number (CRN) of the parent claiming CCS and your child's CRN, plus both dates of birth.
Confirm your enrolment
We lodge your child's enrolment. You then confirm it in your Centrelink online account, which links your CCS to Bright Buds.
Claim well before your child starts. If care starts before your CCS is assessed, full fees are charged and any backdated CCS (up to 28 days) is paid to you by Services Australia. Help: servicesaustralia.gov.au or Centrelink on 136 150.
Good to know
- Who is eligible: generally, a parent or guardian who cares for the child at least two nights a fortnight (or has at least a 14% share of care), pays the fees, and meets residency rules, for a child who meets the immunisation requirements.
- Absences: CCS can be paid for up to 42 absence days per child each financial year, for any reason. Extra absences can be claimed for some reasons, such as illness with a medical certificate.
- First and last days: CCS is only paid from your child's first day of attendance to their last, so please make sure your child attends both.
- Long breaks: if your child doesn't attend for 14 weeks in a row, the enrolment ends for CCS. Talk to us before a long holiday.
- Extra help: the Additional Child Care Subsidy (ACCS) can help grandparent carers, families in temporary financial hardship, families moving from income support to work, and children at risk. Talk to us or Centrelink.
What might you pay?
Enter your CCS percentage and the days you need to see an estimate of your out-of-pocket cost at Bright Buds. You can find your percentage in your Centrelink online account, or estimate it with the Services Australia calculator.
This is an estimate only
Your actual CCS is worked out by Services Australia and can change with your income, activity and number of children. The estimate does not include free preschool hours, Additional Child Care Subsidy or the higher rate for second and younger children.
72 hours is the 3 Day Guarantee for every eligible family. Choose 100 if both parents (or a single parent) do more than 48 hours of work, study or volunteering a fortnight, or your child is Aboriginal or Torres Strait Islander.
Free three-year-old preschool
Bright Buds is an approved partner in the ACT Government's free three-year-old preschool program. Eligible three-year-olds can receive up to 300 hours a year of free preschool, about 6 hours a week, delivered by a degree-qualified early childhood teacher.
- It comes after CCS. The ACT Government pays the gap fee for the free hours after the Child Care Subsidy is applied, so it never reduces your CCS.
- One service only. Your child can use the free hours at one service, and you sign a consent form nominating Bright Buds.
- Extra days or hours are charged at our usual daily fee, less any CCS.
- Hours don't carry over. Unused hours can't be moved to the next year.
Is my child eligible?
Generally, your child is eligible if they:
- turn three on or before 30 April in the year they start
- live in the ACT
- haven't used the program in an earlier year, and aren't in four-year-old preschool
Children on some temporary visas aren't eligible. Ask us and we'll check your child's eligibility with you.
Four-year-olds
In the year before school, Canberra children can attend free preschool at an ACT public school for up to 15 hours a week. Talk to us about combining it with days at Bright Buds. ACT four-year-old preschool
How payments work
Weekly direct debit
Fees are charged weekly in advance, every Monday, by direct debit from your nominated account.
Statements
You receive a weekly statement and a fortnightly statement of entitlement showing each session, attendance times and your CCS.
Late collection
We close at 6.00 pm. A late fee of $35 applies for each 5 minutes, or part of 5 minutes, after closing.
Need help?
If you're finding fees hard to manage, talk to us early. We can discuss a payment plan and whether extra support such as ACCS may apply.
A dishonour fee applies if a direct debit fails because there are not enough funds. Questions about your CCS entitlement are answered by Centrelink on 136 150; questions about your account, by us.
Your child's bag, sorted
Please label everything with your child's name. We're an allergy-aware centre, so please don't bring food from home.
Please bring each day
- A spare change of clothes and shoes (extra sets for children who are toilet learning)
- A SunSmart hat
- A water bottle
- Formula in its original tin, labelled with your child's name, and clean labelled milk bottles, if your child uses them
- Nappy rash cream, if needed
- A comforter and a blanket for rest time
- Pull-ups, if your child is toilet learning
- Any medication your child needs, with their medical management plan
We provide
- Morning tea, lunch, afternoon tea and a late snack
- Milk
- Nappies and wipes
- Sunscreen
- Bed linen for rest time
- Your child's online portfolio on Storypark
Signing in, signing out and who can collect
- Sign in and out every day. This is a legal record of attendance and is used for your CCS.
- Tell the opening educator anything important, like how your child slept or ate, or send a message on Storypark.
- Authorised nominees named on your enrolment form can collect your child.
- Someone new collecting? Tell your child's educator and give us written permission (an email is fine) beforehand. We'll check their photo ID.
- No photos or videos at the centre, including of your own child, to protect every child's privacy. You'll get photos on Storypark.
- We close at 6.00 pm. If you're running late, please call us on (02) 6111 2900.
When your child needs to stay home
Keeping unwell children at home helps them recover and protects other children, families and educators.
Please keep your child home if they
- have a fever
- have vomiting or diarrhoea
- are too unwell to join in the day's play and routines
- have an infectious condition that requires exclusion (see the table below)
If your child becomes unwell here
We will call you and ask you to collect your child as soon as possible, and an educator will keep them comfortable until you arrive. You'll be asked to sign an illness report, which may include a period your child needs to stay home.
Please keep your phone numbers and emergency contacts up to date.
Exclusion periods in the ACT
The ACT's Public Health Regulation sets minimum times that children with some infectious conditions must stay away from childcare. These are the most common ones.
| Condition | Your child can return |
|---|---|
| Diarrhoea or vomiting | 48 hours after the last loose bowel motion or vomit (ACT Health guidance for childcare) |
| Chickenpox | When all blisters have dry scabs, at least 5 days after the rash appears |
| Conjunctivitis | When discharge from the eyes has stopped |
| Hand, foot and mouth disease | When well and all blisters have dried, or any weeping blister on exposed skin is covered |
| Influenza and flu-like illness | When well |
| Impetigo (school sores) | When treatment has started and sores on exposed skin are covered with a watertight dressing |
| Head lice, scabies, ringworm | When effective treatment has started |
| Whooping cough | 21 days after the cough starts, or after at least 5 days of antibiotics |
| Measles | At least 4 days after the rash appears |
| Mumps | 9 days after it starts, or when the swelling goes down, whichever is sooner |
| Rubella (German measles) | 4 days after the rash appears |
| COVID-19 and colds | Not in the exclusion table; ACT Health recommends staying home until your child is feeling much better |
For some conditions, such as measles and whooping cough, children who have been in contact and aren't fully immunised may also need to stay home. Source: Public Health Regulation 2000 (ACT), Schedule 1. Unsure? Call us or healthdirect on 1800 022 222.
Medication
Educators can give your child medication when you have authorised it in writing on the medication record. Please:
- bring medication in its original container, with the pharmacy label showing your child's name, the dose and the expiry date
- hand it to an educator, rather than leaving it in your child's bag
- complete the medication record with the dose and time to be given
In an asthma or anaphylaxis emergency, educators can give emergency medication without prior authorisation and will contact you and emergency services straight away.
Medical conditions and allergies
If your child has a diagnosed medical condition, such as asthma, anaphylaxis, an allergy, diabetes or epilepsy, we need:
- a medical management plan from your child's doctor (for example an ASCIA action plan)
- your child's medication, such as an adrenaline autoinjector or reliever puffer, at the centre every day your child attends
- a meeting with you to agree a risk minimisation plan and communication plan before your child starts
Sun protection
In Canberra the UV Index is 3 or higher for much of the year, especially from spring to autumn, even on cool days. Whenever it is 3 or above, children wear a hat outdoors and we apply sunscreen, which we provide.
- Apply sunscreen before arrival on sunny days
- Pack a SunSmart hat every day: a legionnaire, bucket or broad-brimmed hat (caps don't protect ears and necks)
- Dress your child in clothes that cover shoulders
- Let us know if your child needs a different sunscreen, and bring it labelled
Guidance: Cancer Council ACT SunSmart
Sleep and rest
Babies sleep whenever they need to, in their own cot, in a well-supervised cot room, following Red Nose safe sleep recommendations:
- babies are always placed on their back to sleep
- heads and faces are kept uncovered
- cots meet the Australian Standard, with a firm, flat mattress and no pillows, bumpers or soft toys
Older children have a quiet rest after lunch, and each room creates its own calm rituals, including yoga. We're happy to talk about your child's sleep needs. Red Nose safe sleep advice
Keeping every child safe
Children's safety, rights and best interests come first in every decision we make. We follow the ACT Child Safe Standards, which have applied to early childhood services since 1 August 2024.
The ACT Child Safe Standards
The ACT has 10 Child Safe Standards, based on the National Principles for Child Safe Organisations and overseen by the ACT Children and Young People Commissioner. They cover leadership and culture, children's participation, families and communities, equity and diversity, safe staff, complaints, training, safe physical and online environments, continuous improvement, and policies and procedures.
What this means at Bright Buds
- Everyone who works or volunteers here holds ACT Working with Vulnerable People registration
- All staff complete child protection training and know how to recognise and report concerns
- We're part of the ACT Reportable Conduct Scheme, overseen by the ACT Ombudsman
- Children only leave with parents or authorised nominees, after photo ID is checked
- Families and visitors don't take photos at the centre; photos are shared with families on Storypark
- Children are listened to, and their feelings and ideas are taken seriously
Worried about a child?
If you have any concern about a child's safety, please speak to our Centre Director straight away. If a child is in immediate danger, call 000.
We want to hear from you
Your ideas, compliments and concerns help us improve. Families help shape our program, our philosophy and our Quality Improvement Plan.
Talk to us
Speak with your child's educator, or ask to talk with our Centre Director.
Put it in writing
Email info@brightbuds.com.au. We'll acknowledge your complaint, look into it and let you know the outcome, following our Dealing with Complaints Policy.
Contact the regulator
If you're not satisfied, you can contact Children's Education and Care Assurance (CECA), the ACT regulator, on (02) 6207 7581 (weekdays, 9 am to 5 pm), by email at CECA@act.gov.au, or through its online complaints form.
Our policies
Our policies cover every area of the National Quality Standard, including enrolment, fees, medical conditions, medication, sun protection, sleep and rest, nutrition, child safety, privacy and complaints.
They are available to read at the centre, and we're happy to send you any policy on request.
Support and information for families
MACH Early Parenting Support line
(02) 5124 1775. Leave a message any time and a nurse or midwife calls back, 8.30 am to 5 pm weekdays. For children up to five.
Parentline ACT
(02) 6287 3833, 9 am to 5 pm weekdays. Support and counselling for parents and carers.
healthdirect
1800 022 222, 24 hours. Health advice from a registered nurse.
Centrelink families line
136 150. Questions about the Child Care Subsidy and your entitlement.
Australian Immunisation Register
1800 653 809. Get your child's Immunisation History Statement.
Poisons Information Centre
13 11 26, 24 hours. In an emergency, always call 000.
More reading: Raising Children Network · StartingBlocks.gov.au · ACT Government: families