Publication:Sea Talk Winter 2003/Emergency childcare

Changes to provision of emergency childcare assistance

Emergency Childcare Assistance provides financial assistance for a member who, with less than 48 hours notice, is required to travel in connection with duty or is granted compassionate leave travel, and the member's spouse (or if the member is the sole carer, the person who would normally provide childcare) is unavailable.

This assistance is for expenses that are additional to any childcare expenses the member would normally have incurred.

Changes have recently been made to the provision of emergency childcare assistance as follows:

Eligibility now exists for a member who is required to work outside of normal working hours in their posting locality, and is given less than 48 hours notice of the requirement, to be reimbursed for emergency childcare costs.

• The list of occasions where a caregiver is unavailable to provide care for a member's child has been expanded.
• The initial period of emergency childcare assistance is increased from 48 hours to 72 hours.
• The Defence Community Organisation (DCO) has been included as an Approving Authority for Emergency Childcare Assistance.

Full details of the new provision, which came into effect on 31 January 2003, can be found in ADF Pay and Conditions Manual Chapter 4 Part 4.

For more information contact the DCO Family Information Network for Defence (FIND) telephone 1800 020 031(toll free).