In home care

Hi!
The Department of education and training has IHC support agencies contracted to service each state and territory. They liaise with CSS approved services. To do in home care (IHC) I believe you need to register first via a service. The IHC support agencies work in partnership with the Government and services to determine who requires care, allocations, CSS (family assistance law) etc. Together they ensure educators are qualified, operate safely and match educators with children/families.
You must register with a service in order to work. You'll need to have at least a cert 3 and a PRODA number to work. Working with children checks, first aid and child protection are also needed by most services.

The service and educator usually set their own fee structure and minimum hours, daily rates etc may apply depending on what particular policies are. Just like any other child care the costs and levies will be competitive. You can have a look through websites to see what people charge. The CSS caps will also give you an indication of fees.

Insurance:
An Approved Provider for an IHC Service must, at all times, have in place the following:
- workers compensation insurance in relation to the relevant IHC service as required by law
- a current policy of insurance providing adequate cover for the relevant IHC service against public liability with a minimum cover of $10,000,000

Tax deductions and super
I’m unsure about these but generally for these types of jobs you can claim tax deductions and super will be an individual choice.

I’d recommend you go through your state or territory agency to confirm the exact details and everything you need to start working as an IHC educator. There are different providers for you to choose from so that will be your next decision.

More info:
https://www.education.gov.au/in-home-care

https://docs.education.gov.au/documents/home-care-support-agencies

Do you work as a family day care educator at the moment?

sorry I meant CCS as in child care subsidy not CSS!

No I do not do family day care. But I have registered with a scheme to start in home care and I have a prods number etc.

Just stuck on questions I need answered.

Like what others might charge, how do do program side if kids are older and it's night time when sleeping. Etc

If you’ve already registered, did they go through fees and all that with you. The IHC service should take you everything and support you through the process.

If you have a google you can find the rates IHC’s charge per day of care. If you’d like me to add some links then let me know.

In terms of programming IHC is geared towards early childhood care so the early years learning framework: being belonging becoming and then my time our place for school aged children.

I don’t believe it falls under the NQS.

Do you mean what activities can older children do at night when the younger ones are asleep?

Sorry if I’ve misunderstood

If you could post links would be great please.

No as in one family if be helping 2 older kids but pretty much dinner and bed. Like overnight shifts.

When looking after children overnight, I would recommend that you talk with the parents first and find out what routine the kids have, what the parents expectations are and use that conversation as an opportunity to find out how you are going to work collaboratively.

For example do the kids have a routine, tasks they need to complete, maybe pack up their things, do their reader or homework etc
Is there a set bedtime/lights off, can they choose when they go to bed and so on.
If you don't have an orientation pack from the service you can make your own and include this in there to make things easier if that's something you would like to do or just discuss when you meet the family. Information packs provide you with an opportunity to outline your expectations, care philosophy, programs and so on and are relatively cheap to make.
If the children are able to, try and include them in the conversation so everyone is clear on what will happen.
This should give you a clear indication of what you need to do and how the parents and kids feel. You may find you need to assist families with their bed time routine. You can try to do lists, reward charts etc to help the kids.
Generally educators will stay awake all night - just as you do not sleep during a day shift. During the night the educators might do their educational programming, read educational news etc. You may complete some household tasks or prepare things for the morning.

Every family and child's needs, wants and expectations are different so what you do exactly will vary.

Again your service can help you with this and any issues that may come up. They may also be able to pair you with another educator so you can observe on an overnight shift - if you chat with them they will most likely offer this. For any questions I would highly recommend you ask them, they can provide you with the best information as well as resources etc to ensure you are the best educator you can be.
Have a read through the IHC information provided by the Government (below) and the relevant support agency for where you live. On those websites you will find links to the approved services which include details about their costs, what they can do for you and more. You should find the service you are registered with as well.
In the meantime I suggest you take a look through social media in particular facebook and instagram for support groups for educators and business accounts of educators to get an idea of what people do,their costs etc. You may also like to set up your own social media pages to network with other educators, advertise (check the regulations beforehand), get/share ideas and more, it doesn't really matter if you are just started out or are a future IHC educator. Hope this has been helpful, feel free to ask any questions and I will do my best to answer them

Some useful links:
In home care IHC
https://www.education.gov.au/in-home-care

List of approved agencies for each state and territory:
https://docs.education.gov.au/documents/home-care-support-agencies

In home care support agency (NSW & SA)
https://ihcsupportagency.org.au/about-us/

In home care support agency (VIC & QLD)
https://ihc.org.au/services/

In home care support agency (WA & NT)
https://www.wanslea.asn.au/children-and-family/in-home-care-support-agency/

In home care support agency (ACT)
https://www.ihcsupportagencyact.org.au/

In home care support agency (TAS)
https://ihcsupportagencytas.com.au/

Thank you.