EXPLANATORY STATEMENT
Child Care Benefit (Specified Qualifications for Registered Carers) Determination 2000
Summary
This determination is made under subsection 210(4) of the A New Tax System (Family Assistance) (Administration) Act 1999 (the Administration Act).
The purpose of this determination is to set out required qualifications for registered carers for the purposes of child care benefit (CCB).
Background
The A New Tax System (Family Assistance) Act 1999 (the Family Assistance Act) introduced CCB, which is a payment towards a family’s child care costs. One situation in which a person may be eligible for CCB under the Family Assistance Act is where child care is provided by a “registered carer”. “Registered carer” is defined in the Administration Act as an individual approved as a registered carer under the relevant part of that Act. Section 210 of the Administration Act sets out circumstances in which a person must be approved as a registered carer. Generally, in order to be approved as a registered carer a person must be over a specified age, but subsection 210(4) provides that the Minister may determine alternative qualifications to be met by persons who do not meet the age requirement. This determination sets out those qualifications.
Explanation of the provisions
Part 1
Section 1 of the determination states the name of the determination and section 2 states that the determination commences on 1 July 2000, which is the date that the CCB provisions of the Family Assistance Act will begin to operate. Section 3 contains interpretation provisions.
Part 2
Section 4 provides that a person who does not meet the age requirement to be a registered carer must have a qualification in child care, or as a nanny or home-based help. The qualification must be issued by a State or Territory accredited training provider, and must be listed on the National Training Information Service database.