Late collection

Jabiru Kids programs close strictly at 6.00 pm unless otherwise advertised. If children are collected late, a late fee will be applied. The fee applies for EVERY late pickup, irrespective of whether or not a caregiver is usually on time.

The late fee is set at $1.00 per minute per child, to provide sufficient funds to pay two staff for additional wages for the time worked. A minimum fee of $10.00 will be charged for each instance of late pickup.

The best way to avoid the Late Fee is to organise for your child to be collected before 6.00 pm. If for some reason you are unable to do this, you should contact Jabiru staff at your child’s site by phone and, if necessary, by signed fax message, to organise for your child to be collected before 6.00 pm by an Authorised Emergency Contact.  Under no circumstances will staff agree to put children in a cab, drive children anywhere, or take them to the staff person’s home.

How the late fee is applied

Caregivers should arrive at Jabiru Kids in sufficient time to conduct any account business, talk to staff, collect the child and their belongings, and be out the door of the service before 6.00 pm. The time used for the calculation of the late fee is not the time of the caregiver’s arrival, but the time of their departure after collecting their child and conducting any other business.

A caregiver who arrives exactly at 6.00 pm will accrue a late fee because by the time they conduct any business and pick up the child it is likely to be well after the closing time before they leave the program.

Staff will not enter into discussions over why the caregiver is late, or engage in assessing whether the caregiver has a good excuse for collecting the child late. A caregiver who feels they have a suitable excuse for being late should remember that someone somewhere has to bear the cost, and that Jabiru staff are not in a position to do so.

In the event of a dispute over the time of arrival, staff have been instructed to check the accuracy of the services clock by dialling the electronic time announcement provided by Telstra on 1902 241 124, which caregivers may also listen to, and to subtract one minute from that announced time to allow for time lapsed while dialling.

Late fees must be paid by the caregiver in full because they do not attract childcare benefit. However, they will be included in the 50% Child Care Tax Rebate.