Childcare centres offer families discount during ACT lockdown

Centre-based childcare will continue to operate for children whose parents must keep going out to work during the lockdown.

However, the majority of parents who keep their children home will still be charged the gap fee if they are claiming a childcare subsidy.

G8 Education, which runs eight services in the ACT and three in Queanbeyan, has decided to give families a 35 per cent discount if they do keep their kids at home.

ACT area manager Estelle Hatzis said parents were grateful the discount had come in so quickly so they didn't have to pay the full gap fee for a service they weren't using.

"It was refreshing to be able to support families with the discount. It's been very well-received," she said.

It will mean a hit to the company's bottom line as rent and payroll costs continue as normal, but they say it's a gesture of goodwill to their families.

It means even more for ACT families who are consistently slugged with the highest childcare fees in the nation.

At this stage, ACT families claiming the childcare subsidy will have their usual 42 absence days per financial year. The Department of Education, Skills and Employment will monitor the situation as it evolves.

Parents can apply for an additional childcare subsidy if they have have lost income because of the pandemic and need help to pay childcare fees.

At Symonston Kinder Haven, part of the G8 Education group, attendance was down to about 20-25 per cent on Friday as the stay-at-home orders came in.

Many of the children who did attend were picked up earlier than usual.

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The sector faces a fine balancing act, making sure the needs of families are met while allowing staff to have time to recuperate and stay at home if necessary.

"We keep our doors open to support the people that have to be in essential work, and those vulnerable children," Mrs Hatzis said.

"This is one of the most serious lockdowns that we've had, with these restrictions, and our role is to be able to support the community and their needs and play our part in keeping everybody safe.

"And that's supporting our team, where possible, to stay home and rest and look after themselves as well and do our part in limiting the amount of people that are active in the community."

But the children at home haven't been forgotten, either. Mrs Hatzis's team was looking at ways to keep their programs going remotely.

"Each service will be reaching out next week to initiate some support to stay connected with our families and children who are home until we welcome them back."

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