Providers must acquit funding received under the professional development and paid practicum subsidies.
On this page:
This page has information for providers who got a subsidy in 2023–24. We will publish information on the 2024–25 acquittal process soon.
How do I acquit funding?
Who can complete the acquittal form?
Staffing details can be completed at the service level. However, we require a person with management or control (PMC) to sign the statutory declaration.
Can I acquit multiple services on one form?
No, you must complete a separate acquittal form for each of your services that received funding.
What is the difference between a partial and final acquittal?
When you do a partial acquittal:
- you still have money to spend
- you are reporting on fund spent to-date.
When you do a final acquittal:
- you are acquitting for all funds that were paid to the service
- your service has closed, been transferred to a new provider or had its CCS approval cancelled
- no funding remains to be spent.
If you need to submit several partial acquittals, you will need to include details of amount previously acquitted. We recommend attaching acquittal emails from the department when submitting subsequent acquittal forms.
For example, if you submit partial acquittal forms for $3,600 and $2,500, separately, you will need to indicate the $3,600 partial acquittal on your second form. If you then submit a third final acquittal form for $2,700, you will need to indicate that $6,100 was previously acquitted.
How do I determine the total amount of funding?
If you received funds during more than 1 payment period, you will need to acquit for all funds.
The total amount of money you acquit should equal to the amount in your original grant agreement(s) and/or any top-up payment.
You would have received a top-up payment only if you received the paid practicum subsidy in quarter 1 (paid in September 2023). The top up payment was made to rectify a known underpayment issue.
If you are unsure of the total funding received by a service, please have a PMC for your approved provider contact the ECEC workforce grants team at ECECworkforce@education.gov.au with your Provider CRN. We cannot provide specific details on grant applications or funding to non-PMCs.
When is the deadline?
Professional development subsidy
You can use and acquit funding received under the professional development subsidy throughout the period specified in the guidelines.
Professional development funding received in 2023–24 can be acquitted throughout 2023–24 and 2024–25. Funding must be acquitted within 14 days from being fully spent as per your grant agreement.
Paid practicum subsidy
You must acquit funding received under the paid practicum subsidy for a financial year within 6 months after the financial year ends.
For paid practicum funding received in 2023–24, acquittals are due by 30 December 2024.
What do I do if a service closes, is transferred to a new provider or is cancelled?
If a service ceases operations, is transferred to a new provider or has its CCS approval cancelled, you must complete a final acquittal.
In this case, you must notify us at least 42 days before your service closes.
However, until your service closes, you can:
- utilise the funding received for professional development subsidies
- claim for training or placement completed in 2023–24 financial year.
You cannot use the funds once CCS approval has been cancelled. Funding cannot be transferred to a new provider, or another service under the same provider.
Any unused funds will be returned to the department.
How do I submit?
Please send the completed form to ECECworkforce@education.gov.au.
I have submitted final acquittal but there is remaining funding. What happens to it?
We will seek reimbursement of any unacquitted funds after a final acquittal is submitted. A tax invoice will be sent to the provider email address requesting repayment.
What if funding cannot be utilised for the purposes outlined in the guidelines?
Please contact the ECEC workforce grants team at ECECworkforce@education.gov.au. Please note that any identified unutilised funds will be recoverable by the department.
Do I have to attach evidence?
No, signing the statutory declaration on the acquittal form is sufficient. However, we undertake audit compliance checks from time-to-time.
As per your grant agreement, you must keep records of evidence for a period of 24 months after the activity is completed. Evidence must be provided if requested.
What types of evidence should I keep on hand?
Appropriate evidence must be kept demonstrating correct use of funding in line with the guidelines.
For the professional development subsidy, this could include:
- paid invoice or certificate of completion for named staff who attended training/course
- other documentation like confirmation email with date(s) of the professional development, application forms and grant agreements
- payroll records indicating the named staff or staff member backfilling them was paid on the day(s) of professional development.
For the paid practicum subsidy, this could include:
- documentation confirming date(s) of practicum placement for named staff at another service
- copies of their application forms and grant agreements
- payroll records indicating the named staff was paid for the week(s) practicum placement was undertaken.
There may be instances where a staff member is required to complete their placement at their place of employment. In this case the documentary evidence can be:
- an email or letter from the Higher Education Institution explaining why the placement is taking place at the same service
- supporting documentation from the service or educator to show why the staff member conducted their placement at the same service.
What documents will I need on hand to complete an acquittal?
The following documents can help providers complete the acquittal form:
- application form(s) – this will help you enter the details of staff completing training or placement, including the number of days or weeks completed and the relevant rates
- grant agreement/s and any top-up notification emails – this will help you enter the correct funding amount.
Where can I find these documents?
You can find your application details and grant agreements through DocuSign. If you are unable to locate these documents, a person with management or control (PMC) can contact us.
What rates should I enter?
We outline the relevant 2023–24 rates on the following pages:
How do I complete a final acquittal?
You can complete your final acquittal by following these steps:
- mark the acquittal type as final
- enter the breakdown of the total funding received
- list the funding spent
- list the number of staff, days or weeks applicable to each funding component.
Please remember to check if:
- total funding received and total expenditure match
- the number of days or weeks supported match your grant agreement/s.
How do I complete a partial acquittal?
You can complete your partial acquittal by following these steps:
- mark the acquittal type as partial
- enter the breakdown of the total funding received
- list the funding spent for each component (professional development subsidy and paid practicum subsidy)
- find the remaining funding balance by subtracting the total expenditure from total funding received
- list the number of staff, days or weeks applicable to each funding component.
Please remember to check if:
- the number of days or weeks supported match your grant agreement/s.
How do I report short training sessions or practicums that that were less than a week?
We require providers to only acquit full professional development days.
In cases where staff have completed shorter training courses, providers:
- must not submit a partial acquittal form
- should keep record of these trainings
- must report only when a combined day or 2 of supported professional development has been used.
You have until 30 June 2025 to fully use all professional development supported days.
We require paid practicums to be reported as a full week (block of 5 days).
In cases where staff have completed shorter practicums (2 days per week), providers:
- should keep record of these placements
- must report only when they have completed a minimum of one week.
What if I have not used any funds yet?
If you have not used any professional development subsidy yet, you:
- do not need to provide an acquittal
- must ensure you use all funding by 30 June 2025.
If you haven’t used any paid practicum subsidy, you must provide an acquittal to advise that placements have not commenced. This is because all practicums must have commenced before 30 June 2024.
If the practicums didn’t commence in the 2023–24 financial year, we will work towards recovering the funds.
Can I apply for 2024–25 funding if I still have unused funds from 2023–24?
We recommend using and acquitting any funds received in 2023–24 before applying for further funding. This is because our processes, funding amounts and eligibility criteria have changed between the 2 financial years.
We encourage providers to keep separate records of their funding expenditure across the different financial years.
If you have residual 2023–24 funding, you can use this in the first half of 2024-25. You can then apply for further funding when the 2024–25 round 2 applications open.
How do I repay funding not used?
You must complete an acquittal form if:
- funding has not been used or cannot be used in the required timeframe
- your provider or service has closed.
You must advise the reason for returning the funds. We will issue an invoice for recovering the unspent funds.
How do I match the number of staff and days or weeks in the acquittal form?
We provided funding based on your forecasted number of staff and days or weeks.
Your final acquittal must match the number of days and/or weeks as per your grant agreement. However, the number of staff can differ. Please remember to indicate staffing changes when submitting your acquittal form.
How can I find out the payment amount and when I received it?
We make payments through the Child Care Subsidy System (CCSS) on a quarterly basis.
Check the Provider Entry Point (PEP) or your third-party software system for payments with the description ‘ECEC Grant Payment’.
You can also check your service bank accounts for amounts paid on or around the following dates:
- Quarter 1: 26 September 2023
- Quarter 2: 7 December 2023 (including the paid practicum top up payment from quarter 1, if applicable)
- Quarter 3: 19 March 2024
- Quarter 4: 13 June 2024
I can’t identify the subsidy payments in my remittance advice statements. Why is this?
Remittance advice statements are issued by Services Australia at the time of payment. It does not separate subsidy payments from other CCS payments made on the same day.
The subsidy payments are not linked to an Enrolment ID. You should be able to find the subsidy payments in PEP or third-party software using this detail.
If your organisation uses third-party software, you may need to contact your software provider for advice.