Childcare service types in Australia and what each one asks of you
Short answer: Australia's approved education and care service types are long day care, preschool or kindergarten, outside school hours care, occasional care, family day care and in-home care. All of these except in-home care sit under the National Quality Framework and need Provider Approval and a Service Approval. In-home care is administered separately as a Child Care Subsidy program. They differ in where care happens, who they serve, and how they're staffed and funded.
Most people in the sector use "childcare" as a single word for everything. Under the National Law it covers several distinct service types, each with its own approval pathway, staffing model and funding arrangement. A provider who runs a long day care centre well won't automatically run a family day care scheme well, because they're different businesses that happen to share a regulator.
This guide sets the main service types side by side, then covers the two approvals that sit behind almost all of them.
The service types at a glance
Ages and session patterns vary by state or territory and by individual service, so treat the table as a general guide and confirm the detail with your regulatory authority.
| Service type | What it is | Where care happens | Who it's generally for |
|---|---|---|---|
| Long day care | Centre-based education and care over extended daily hours | One approved centre premises | Children from infancy to school age, usually full or part days |
| Preschool or kindergarten | An education program in the year or years before school | Standalone preschools, kindergartens, or inside a long day care centre | Children in the year or two before starting school |
| Outside school hours care | Care around the school day and in the holidays | On or near school grounds | School-age children, before school, after school and vacation care |
| Occasional care | Centre-based care booked in short, irregular blocks | An approved centre premises | Families needing a few hours at a time rather than set days |
| Family day care | Care by registered educators in home-based settings | Educators' own homes or approved venues | Small mixed-age groups, often from infancy through to school age |
| In-home care | A capped subsidy program with care in the child's own home | The family's home | Families who can't access other approved care because of their circumstances |
Long day care
Long day care is centre-based education and care from a single approved premises, usually open ten to twelve hours a day, five days a week. Children generally attend from six weeks or six months of age until they start school, and educators are employed to work at that site.
It's regulated under the National Quality Framework, which means Provider Approval, a Service Approval for the premises, and assessment and rating against the National Quality Standard.
The business reality is occupancy. Rent, wages and compliance costs stay largely fixed whether the rooms are full or half empty, so a centre running at 65 per cent utilisation and one running at 90 per cent are in very different financial positions with the same overheads. We've written about what falling occupancy numbers are actually telling you and how to read them.
Preschool and kindergarten
Preschool, called kindergarten in Victoria and some other jurisdictions, is the education program delivered in the year or two immediately before school. How it's delivered varies a lot. In some states a large share of preschool programs run inside long day care centres, taught by an early childhood teacher within the normal day. In others, standalone preschools and kindergartens are the dominant model, many of them council or community managed.
Most preschool programs sit under the National Quality Framework. State and territory funding agreements usually sit on top of that, and they bring their own reporting requirements, teacher qualification conditions and participation targets. If you're planning a kindergarten program, the funding rules in your state will shape the model as much as the National Law does.
Outside school hours care
Outside school hours care covers before school care, after school care and vacation care for school-age children. It usually operates on or near school grounds, either with the school itself as the approved provider or with a third party running the service under an agreement with the school. It's regulated under the NQF.
Two things make OSHC different to run. The first is the session pattern. Term time gives you two short peaks a day, then vacation care gives you full days, so rostering and educator retention work differently to a centre with steady hours. The second is that the school relationship sits underneath everything. If the licence agreement ends, the service ends with it, whatever your rating says.
Occasional care
Occasional care is centre-based care booked in short blocks rather than regular days, for families who need a few hours at a time. It's treated differently across jurisdictions, and some services operate under state licensing arrangements rather than the National Law. If you're considering it, check the position with your state or territory regulatory authority before you plan around it.
Family day care
Family day care is delivered by registered educators from their own homes or approved venues, in small mixed-age groups. An educator can care for a maximum of seven children under 13 at any one time, and no more than four of those can be preschool age.
The educators aren't independent operators. They work under one approved provider and one approved family day care service, which recruits them, registers them, trains them, and monitors their homes and their record keeping. The provider needs Provider Approval and a Service Approval for the family day care service.
The operational challenge is supervision at a distance. A centre director can walk the building. A family day care coordination unit is holding compliance across dozens of separate houses, which puts a lot of weight on the coordinator ratio, the visit schedule and the systems behind them. This is where family day care services most often come unstuck at assessment and rating, and where our assessment and rating support tends to start.
In-home care
In-home care is the one that works differently. It's an Australian Government program where an approved educator provides care in the child's own home, and one educator cares for the children of a single family. It's limited to families who genuinely can't access other approved care, such as parents working hours no service covers, families in geographically isolated areas, or children with complex needs.
It's administered as a Child Care Subsidy program through approved in-home care providers, not through the National Law provider and service approval pathway. The number of places is capped nationally, so it isn't a model a provider can simply decide to enter the way they might open a centre.
The two approvals underneath almost all of it
Two threads run through the service types above, and they're separate from each other.
The first is approval under the Education and Care Services National Law. For long day care, preschool, outside school hours care and family day care, operating lawfully means holding Provider Approval, which authorises you or your entity, and a Service Approval, which authorises the specific service. Provider Approval travels with you across multiple services. Service Approval doesn't. In-home care is the exception, sitting outside this pathway.
The second is Child Care Subsidy approval, which is what allows families using your service to receive subsidy. It's granted separately, and holding a Service Approval doesn't give it to you automatically. For most models the service isn't commercially viable without it, so the two applications need to be planned together rather than sequentially.
Working out which model suits you
There's no best service type. The answer depends on the site or setting you have, the demand and supply in your catchment, the workforce you can realistically attract in that area, and how much capital you're prepared to put in before the first child walks through the door.
Long day care is capital heavy and occupancy driven. Family day care is light on property and heavy on coordination and compliance systems. Outside school hours care is cheap to start and tied to a relationship you don't fully control. Getting this decision right at the front end saves a great deal of unwinding later.
If you're weighing up which model fits, ELC Group works with providers through opening a new service and through taking on an existing one, from provider approval to opening day. Talk to us about where you're up to.
This guide is general information. Most of these service types are regulated under the National Law by your state or territory regulatory authority, while in-home care and subsidy arrangements are administered by the Australian Government. Confirm the requirements that apply to your service before acting.
Frequently asked questions
-
Long day care, preschool or kindergarten, outside school hours care, occasional care, family day care and in-home care. Most sit under the National Quality Framework and need Provider Approval and a Service Approval. In-home care is administered separately as a capped Child Care Subsidy program for families who can't access other approved care.
-
Long day care operates from one approved centre premises with educators employed at that site. Family day care is delivered by registered educators from their own homes or approved venues, in groups of up to seven children under 13 with no more than four preschool age, under an approved provider and service that recruits, trains and monitors them. Both are regulated under the National Quality Framework.
-
They refer to the same thing, the education program in the year or years before school, but the term used depends on the state or territory. Funding arrangements and delivery models also vary, so a kindergarten program in Victoria and a preschool program in New South Wales can look quite different in practice.
-
For most service types, yes, and they're separate applications. Provider Approval and Service Approval come from your state or territory regulatory authority under the National Law. CCS approval comes from the Australian Government and is what allows families at your service to receive subsidy.
-
Which service type is most profitable to run?