← All service leads

Exact-date confirmation

A request starts it.
Confirmation settles it.

Find a relevant route, agree the exact place and session, and finish the provider's booking steps before relying on care.

  1. Check the actual service. Read the location, age range, care type and current service or carer information.
  2. Ask a precise question. Give the date and full local start/end times. Ask whether new families can attend and what must happen first.
  3. Complete the provider's process. A request, enrolment submission, vacancy badge, waitlist or app opening is a different stage from an accepted booking.
  4. Keep the confirmation. Ask for the service location, date, session times, fee, cancellation terms and confirmation reference in writing.

Questions for your service or carer

  1. Can you confirm a place for the exact date and full local start/end times, rather than add an enquiry or waitlist request?
  2. Can a new family use this session, and must enrolment, a visit or orientation be completed first?
  3. What exact ages are accepted for this room or carer, and are school-enrolment or resident restrictions relevant?
  4. Is this term-time, vacation-only or parent-present care? Does this date have a holiday or special closure?
  5. Are there minimum hours, maximum session lengths, weekly limits or compulsory extra days?
  6. What is the full AUD fee including enrolment, booking, membership, excursion, late pickup and public-holiday charges?
  7. What is payable if CCS does not apply, and what must be approved before any reduction?
  8. When does the booking become confirmed, and what written confirmation, reference and payment deadline will I receive?
  9. What cancellation, absence, rescheduling and provider-cancellation terms apply to this specific booking?
  10. Where can I check the actual service approval, current quality/compliance information and relevant carer checks?
  11. How will handover, authorised collection, routines and necessary support information be arranged through the official provider process?

Read the source and its limits

The resources below support the checklist. Use the relevant authority and the actual provider for current requirements and your circumstances.

Official resource

A service lead is the start

Starting Blocks compares service information including fees, vacancies and quality. Use it to investigate the exact service, then ask for the date and times you need.

Directory information is not a CareDate reservation. Its disclaimer advises checking currency and relevance.

Read the source ↗

Related official resource ↗

Official resource

Casual care can still need enrolment

The federal enrolment guide distinguishes routine care, casual-only care and mixed arrangements. A casual-day option does not remove the approved service enrolment process.

Provider administration guidance; it does not establish capacity or same-day onboarding for a family.

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Official resource

Subsidy approval is separate

CCS eligibility depends on the family, child and approved care. Check Services Australia and the service before treating a published CCS claim as your entitlement.

No personal eligibility, subsidy amount or out-of-pocket calculation is supplied.

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Related official resource ↗

Official resource

The 3 Day Guarantee is about subsidised hours

Current federal family guidance describes at least 72 subsidised hours per fortnight for CCS-eligible families. The government explains that a provider place still needs to be secured.

The funding policy is not a guarantee of a particular place, date or free care. The linked announcement is dated 5 January 2026.

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Related official resource ↗

Official resource

Check the specific service record

ACECQA national registers hold approved service/provider information and are updated from the national system. Search the actual service name or approval number.

This directory has not independently checked each listing against the register. Some care options are subject to different regulatory arrangements.

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Official resource

A rating is different from a booking

State and territory regulators assess services against the NQS. ACECQA explains the published ratings and the status for services not yet assessed.

No listing is given a current verified rating or safety endorsement here. A rating does not establish a place on your date.

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Official resource

Review safety and compliance information

Starting Blocks explains service monitoring, published enforcement indicators and questions about staffing and child-safe practice. Read the actual service information and discuss it with the provider.

No listing-specific compliance or individual carer check was conducted. Not all sensitive detail is public.

Read the source ↗

Official resource

Find the relevant regulator

ACECQA lists the regulatory authority for each state and territory and explains its approval, rating and compliance functions.

Check which regulatory framework applies to the actual care option; a babysitting platform is not an approved centre record.

Read the source ↗

Official resource

Ask about the whole session

Queensland family guidance recommends checking operating days, new-enrolment places, complete fees and written service information.

Use this as a question checklist; no nationwide legal rule or fee result is inferred.

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Official resource

Prepare for orientation and written terms

Victorian enrolment guidance describes orientation, forms and possible advance or notice-related charges. Ask the service what must happen before the first casual visit.

Only enrolment/orientation and fee-condition guidance is used. Older activity-test wording on this state page is not used for current CCS policy; use federal guidance.

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Official resource

Public holidays need a separate check

Fair Work publishes jurisdiction-specific public holidays, including regional differences. Check the service location and ask the provider how the date affects operation and fees.

This is a calendar reference, not a childcare opening schedule. The website does not calculate public-holiday or school-term closures.

Read the source ↗

Official resource

Meet the service and ask about daily care

Starting Blocks recommends seeing a service and discussing everyday communication, routines and educator relationships. Use the provider enrolment process for necessary family details.

CareDate collects no child identity, health information or family contact information. A short-notice route does not remove suitability checks.

Read the source ↗

Prepare a date request

Review the wording, then copy it to the provider's official channel. This website does not send requests or reserve care.

Official provider route ↗

Keep child identity, health details and family contact information out of this draft. Provide necessary information through the provider's official enrolment process. The draft is cleared when this dialog closes.