Occasional Child Care is a unique service that supports families by providing short periods of irregular and regular child care for children aged 6weeks to under school age. Parents use this type of service for many reasons, including emergency, crisis and respite care; casual, rotating roster, part-time and full time work; parents studying; shopping; attending appointments and sporting activities. This type of care caters for all socio-economic groups and offers the users the flexibility of only paying for the hours of care they use.

Occasional Child Care Centres focus on developing innovative programs for the regular children which run in conjunction with the occasional child care program providing a safe, caring, nurturing environment that is stimulating and encourages children’s participation.

These types of centres vary in the days and hours of operation. Centres may be closed for public holidays and a period over the December/January break depending on the changing needs of the community.

Occasional Child Care Centres are licenced by the appropriate State Government organizations. Centres must be staffed by workers with the appropriate qualifications as set down under the licencing standards for each state. Services are overseen by a volunteer management committee consisting mostly of centre users both past and present. All committee members and authorized supervisors must consent to a police criminal check. Staff and volunteers at the centre must consent to a working with children check as set down by each states guidelines.