The instrument operates by linking three conceptual elements: the statutory source (the Child Care Act 2001), the temporal application of fees (two parts with different effective periods), and a matrix of fee unit amounts keyed to licence class, capacity band and type of transaction.

Statutory source and scope: Regulation 3 ties the Schedule directly to the Child Care Act 2001 by prescribing the Schedule 1 amounts “as the fees payable under the Child Care Act 2001” for the matters listed (reg 3(1) and (2)). The regulations do not define the underlying licence types, capacities, or procedural steps; those definitional and procedural matters appear to be within the Child Care Act 2001 and any subordinate procedural instruments that the Act authorises. The regulations therefore operate as a fees amendment to the Act’s existing licensing/registration scheme.

Temporal structure: Schedule 1 is split into two Parts. Part 1 is explicitly for the period 5 June 2023 to 30 June 2024 (Schedule 1 heading; reg 3(1)). Part 2 is intended to apply “on and from 1 July 2024” according to reg 3(2), though the printed Part 2 heading in the Schedule itself reads “Fees on and from 1 June 2024”, creating an internal inconsistency between reg 3(2) and the textual heading of Part 2. The instrument also provides an overall commencement date (5 June 2023, reg 2) and a Gazette notification date (30 May 2023).

Fee matrix and transaction types: The Schedule breaks fees down across:

• Approved registration body licence (application, renewal, late renewal, amendment) (Schedule 1, Parts 1 and 2, item 1).
• Centre‑based child care licences (two subcategories: those not covered by item 3; and those providing vacation care programs only), with capacity bands (up to 15; 16-40; 41-65; 66-90; 91+), and transaction types application, renewal, late renewal, request for amendment (Schedule 1, Parts 1 and 2, items 2 and 3).
• Home‑based child care licence (licensed for up to 7 children), with transaction types (Schedule 1, Parts 1 and 2, item 4).

Unit measure: Each entry is expressed in “Fee units” and given a numerical value (for example, Part 1, item 1(a) Approved registration body application is 172.08 fee units). The regulations do not define a monetary conversion for “fee units” within the instrument text supplied; the Schedule therefore records the fees in nominal fee unit terms rather than directly as dollars. The absence of a definition or conversion in this instrument means the operational monetary amount payable will depend on the statutory or administrative mechanism that gives fee units monetary value.

Design features visible in the numbers:

• The schedule is graduated by capacity: larger centres face larger fee unit amounts for many transaction types.
• Different treatment for vacation‑only centre licences: the fees for centres providing vacation care programs only are generally lower than for full‑service centres in the same capacity band, in both Parts.
• Late lodgement fees are charged as separate line items; in some instances (Part 1) late fees are lower than in Part 2, and some Part 2 entries standardise late fees across bands.

Administrative placement: The regulations conclude by recording that they are administered in the Department for Education, Children and Young People. That places responsibility for collecting fees and dealing with applications with that Department, subject to the procedural framework under the Child Care Act 2001.

Overall, the core concept is conversion of discrete licensing transactions under the Child Care Act 2001 into a scheduled, banded set of fee unit charges, with different rates for two defined temporal windows and a specified administrative agency.

The explicit legal effects in the text fall on persons or entities engaging with licensing and registration processes under the Child Care Act 2001. The Schedule identifies the classes of transaction and therefore the groups that will incur the fees.

Primary payers:

• Applicants for an “approved registration body licence” (Schedule 1, Part 1 and Part 2, item 1). That label targets bodies seeking that specific class of approval under the Act.
• Operators or prospective operators of centre‑based child care centres, by capacity band. The Schedule requires payment on application and renewal, and for late lodgement and amendments (Schedule 1, Parts 1 and 2, item 2).
• Operators of centre‑based child care providing vacation care programs only (distinct fee lines at items 3 in Parts 1 and 2).
• Home‑based child care operators (licensed for up to 7 children) for the listed transactions (Schedule 1, Parts 1 and 2, item 4).

Who will decide and collect: The Department for Education, Children and Young People is named as the administering agency. That places the Department in the position of receiving applications, assessing whether the relevant fee has been paid, and enforcing requirements connected to the licensing transactions. The instrument itself prescribes the quantum of fees but not the operational payment channels, invoicing procedure, or recovery mechanisms; those operational matters will be conducted by the administering department in the course of processing applications under the Child Care Act 2001.

Indirectly affected parties:

• Applicants that are deciding whether to apply, renew or request an amendment will factor fee amounts into their cost calculations. Fee differentials across capacity bands and between full‑service centres and vacation‑only centres will influence choices about whether to seek a larger or smaller licence, or to alter services to qualify for a different fee band.
• Entities that provide administrative or professional services to childcare operators (lawyers, accountants, licensing agents) will be affected insofar as they must advise on the applicable fee item, timing of payments and potential late fees.
• Parents and funders may be indirectly affected if operators pass fees through to consumers; the instrument does not regulate pricing practices but makes a direct cost for licencing transactions that operators may factor into business decisions.

Persons not directly affected by the Schedule include individuals or organisations not engaged in licensing transactions under the Child Care Act 2001. The regulations do not impose fees on parents for childcare attendance, nor do they impose ongoing per‑child operating fees; the charges are attached specifically to applications, renewals, late lodgement and amendment requests under the licensing regime.

The instrument is procedural and transactional. Liability to pay is event‑triggered: the fee becomes payable upon the relevant application, renewal, late lodgement or amendment request. The text does not attach fees to other regulatory interactions (inspections, compliance notices) in these regulations; if such charges exist they would need to be found elsewhere in the Act or other subordinate instruments.

Duties imposed by the regulations are narrow and transactional: the Schedule prescribes the fee unit amounts that must be paid in connection with specified licensing events under the Child Care Act 2001. The primary duties and correlative rights from the text are:

Duty to pay prescribed fees when engaging in listed licensing transactions:

• Regulation 3 prescribes that the Schedule amounts are “the fees payable under the Child Care Act 2001” for the listed matters (reg 3(1) and (2)). That creates the legal duty to pay the specified fee unit sum when lodging an application for licence, renewal, late lodgement of a renewal, or request for amendment, as the Schedule itemises.
• The duty is transactional and event‑based: payment is required for particular applications and requests (Schedule 1, Parts 1 and 2, items 1-4).

Duty to observe the temporal application of fees:

• Part 1 fees are explicitly applicable for the period 5 June 2023 to 30 June 2024 (Schedule 1, Part 1 heading; reg 3(1)). Part 2 is prescribed by reg 3(2) to operate “on and from 1 July 2024”. Careful timing is therefore necessary to determine which Part applies to a given application or lodgement. The Schedule itself contains a textual inconsistency in the Part 2 heading (it reads “on and from 1 June 2024”), so there is an obligation for practitioners to confirm the operative date (reg 3(2) is the operative text prescribing Part 2 on and from 1 July 2024).

Rights correlative to payment:

• Payment of the prescribed fee unit amount is a precondition to the processing of the listed licensing events under the Child Care Act 2001. While the regulations do not state procedural consequences of non‑payment, reg 3’s formulation implies that the listed fees are the charges the Act requires for those matters; accordingly, an applicant has the right to have the application processed on payment of the prescribed amount, subject to the procedural rules in the Child Care Act 2001.
• The Schedule separates types of transactions and the corresponding fees. Operators have the right to elect the appropriate transaction type (for example, seeking an amendment rather than a new application) and pay the corresponding prescribed fee.

No express waiver or concession scheme is included in these regulations. The Schedule sets flat fee unit amounts by item; the regulations do not provide mechanisms for reduction, deferment, or exemption in their text. Where concessions, waivers or alternative payment arrangements exist, those must be sought in the Act or separate administrative instruments; they are not established in these regulations.

Obligation to avoid late lodgement fees:

• The Schedule sets late lodgement of renewal fees as distinct items. Operators therefore have a practical duty to lodge renewal applications on time if they wish to avoid the late lodgement fee specified for their licence class (for example Schedule 1, Part 1, item 2(c) entries).

Duty to identify correct capacity band and licence category:

• The fee depends on the licence category and the capacity band (for centre‑based licences). The applicant or licence holder must correctly identify the applicable capacity band (for example “licensed for up to 15 children”, “licensed for 16 to 40 children” etc.) to determine which fee item applies (Schedule 1, Parts 1 and 2, item 2 and item 3).

Administrative duty: the Department for Education, Children and Young People is tasked with administering these regulations. That places an operational duty on the Department to implement the fee schedule in its processing systems, invoicing and collections.

In sum, the regulations create specific payment duties for defined licensing events, impose time‑sensitive obligations (renewal timing), and allocate practical rights to processing contingent on payment, without creating concessions, payment schedules or procedural details within the text supplied.

The text supplied contains no express penalty provisions, sanctions or enforcement mechanisms beyond prescribing the amounts of fees for particular licensing transactions. The regulations do not themselves establish:

• Penalties for non‑payment of the prescribed fees.
• Interest or recovery procedures for overdue fees.
• Criminal offences or civil sanctions linked to failure to pay.
• Administrative mechanisms (forfeiture, refusal to process applications, suspension) for non‑payment.

Because regulation 3 prescribes the Schedule as the fees “payable under the Child Care Act 2001”, enforcement and penalty mechanisms for non‑payment or for non‑compliance with payment timing would be governed by the Child Care Act 2001 and any regulations, rules or departmental procedures made under that Act. The instrument does not reproduce or restate any of the Act’s enforcement powers in these regulations.

What the instrument does provide that has enforcement implications:

• It specifies separate late lodgement fee lines for renewal applications (Schedule 1, Parts 1 and 2, items 2(c), 3(c) and 4(c)). Those entries in practice create a financial consequence for late renewal lodgement. The regulations do not state how late lodgement is determined (for example a specific date, number of days late, or receipt date); those procedural details and any consequences for non‑payment of late fees must be sourced from the Child Care Act 2001 or departmental practice.
• The Department for Education, Children and Young People is identified as the administering agency which, operationally, will carry out whatever enforcement or refusal decisions the Act and departmental processes authorise. The regulations themselves do not create additional enforcement powers.

Practitioners must therefore look to the Child Care Act 2001 and departmental administrative instruments or published procedural guidance for:

• The consequence of failing to pay the prescribed fee when lodging an application or renewal (for example, whether an application is rejected, held incomplete, or processed but later recovered).
• Time limits and triggers for what constitutes a late lodgement.
• Remedies for disputes about invoicing, fee calculation, or mis‑banding.

In absence of penalties in the instrument itself, the Schedule functions as the pricing element of the licensing regime; enforcement of its application will depend on the interplay with the statutory provisions and administrative practice under the Child Care Act 2001.

The regulations explicitly interact with at least two legislative instruments contained in the text provided.

Primary statutory interaction:

• Child Care Act 2001: The regulations prescribe the fees “payable under the Child Care Act 2001” (reg 3(1) and (2)). That phrasing means the fees in Schedule 1 are to be treated as the monetary amounts the Act requires for the listed licensing matters. The regulations do not restate the substantive licensing criteria, definitions, or procedural rules in the Child Care Act 2001; they operate as a fees instrument that sits under, and is factually connected to, the Act. Any definitions of “approved registration body licence”, “centre‑based child care licence”, “home‑based child care licence”, or the mechanics of application and renewal are therefore matters to be consulted in the Child Care Act 2001 and other subordinate instruments made under that Act.

Publication and technical compliance:

• Rules Publication Act 1953: The Schedule is “Displayed and numbered in accordance with the Rules Publication Act 1953”, which is recorded at the end of the Schedule. That indicates the publication and numbering formalities for subordinate instruments have been observed consistent with that Act; the regulations were notified in the Gazette on 30 May 2023. The Rules Publication Act reference is procedural and relates to how subordinate legislation and instruments are published and made available.

Absent express cross‑references or amendments to other laws within the text, additional interactions are matters of implication:

• Fee unit conversion: The Schedule lists amounts in “Fee units” but does not convert those to a currency amount; a conversion mechanism for fee units will be found in either the Child Care Act 2001, another financial instrument, or an administrative policy. Practitioners must therefore consult relevant statutory definitions or departmental material to convert fee unit figures into payable dollar amounts.
• Procedural consequences and enforcement: Because the regulations do not provide enforcement or payment procedures, the rules in the Child Care Act 2001 and any regulations under it will determine how payment is verified and what legal consequences flow from non‑payment.
• Delegation and administration: The Department for Education, Children and Young People is designated as the administering agency. Its administrative powers to collect and reconcile fees, to issue invoices, and to refuse or accept applications will be exercised under authority delegated by the Child Care Act 2001 or associated regulations.

No other statutes or instruments are named in the text supplied. Where fee amounts are relevant to commercial or tax treatment, that interaction is not addressed in this instrument and must be considered against the wider statutory and regulatory framework outside these regulations.

The instrument as supplied records the following items relevant to amendment history:

• Citation: The regulations are cited as the Child Care (Fees) Regulations 2023 (reg 1).
• Commencement and Gazette: The regulations commence on 5 June 2023 (reg 2) and were notified in the Gazette on 30 May 2023 (end of Schedule).
• Schedule structure and Part dates: Schedule 1 sets out two Parts with specified application periods (Part 1 for 5 June 2023 to 30 June 2024; Part 2 stated in reg 3(2) as “on and from 1 July 2024”).

The instrument text supplied does not record any legislative amendments subsequent to the initial making and gazettal. The Schedule is presented as a single consolidated set of fees for the two time windows; there are no marked insertions, deletions, or notes of amendment in the text provided.

Notable textual inconsistency relevant to amendment/interpretation:

• Part 2 header discrepancy: Schedule 1’s Part 2 is headed “Fees on and from 1 June 2024” in the Schedule text, whereas regulation 3(2) prescribes the Part 2 fees “on and from 1 July 2024”. This inconsistency appears within the instrument as printed and is material to timing. The regulations do not record any amending provision to resolve that discrepancy within the text supplied. Users should therefore treat reg 3(2) as the operative provision that prescribes when Part 2 applies, but the discrepancy itself is part of the instrument’s present text and may require administrative clarification or a formal amendment.

No amendment instrument or history (for example, a later regulation revising Schedule 1) is recorded in the text provided. If amendments have been made since the dates in this instrument, they are not contained in the supplied material. The instrument does not include a savings or transitional clause other than the explicit Part 1 dates, so any transitional arrangements for applications lodged around the cut‑over date would depend on the Child Care Act 2001, departmental practice, or any separate amending instrument.

In short, the instrument records its own making and commencement but contains no subsequent amendment history in the supplied text. The internal inconsistency on the Part 2 start date is the principal drafting irregularity that practitioners should note and, if necessary, seek clarification from the administering Department or check any subsequent amending instrument.

The text supplied contains no reference to litigation, court decisions, disputes or administrative reviews concerning these regulations. There are no cases, judgments or tribunal decisions cited or appended to the instrument. The schedule does not record contested interpretations or outcomes.

Because the regulations are a fee schedule under the Child Care Act 2001, any litigation that might arise in practice would most likely concern:

• Whether a fee prescribed in the Schedule was correctly applied to a particular transaction.
• The timing of application of Part 1 versus Part 2 fees where the temporal cut‑off is disputed , particularly relevant given the internal inconsistency between the Part 2 heading and reg 3(2).
• Whether a payment made in fee units was correctly converted and accepted by the administering department, if fee unit conversion disputes occur.
• Procedural consequences of non‑payment (for example, refusal to process an application), which would be tested in the context of the Child Care Act 2001 and departmental policy.

None of those potential litigation topics appears in the instrument. Therefore, based solely on the supplied text, the litigation history is empty: no reported cases, and no recorded legal challenges are referenced.

Practitioners should treat this section as a statement of absence rather than an assessment of future litigation risk. Any subsequent legal challenges or decisions would be external to the instrument text and must be located in judicial or tribunal records beyond the regulations themselves.

The instrument is compact but contains a number of drafting and practical features that create concrete compliance traps if overlooked.

1. Fee unit denomination is not converted in the instrument

• Schedule 1 lists each entry in “Fee units” with numeric values (for example Part 1, item 1(a) 172.08). The regulations as supplied do not define the monetary value of a fee unit or show conversion to dollars. Practical consequence: practitioners must locate the legal mechanism or administrative guidance that converts fee units into a currency amount before remitting payment. The Schedule’s numeric values are not self‑executing currency amounts in the text provided.

2. Temporal inconsistency between reg 3(2) and Schedule heading

• Regulation 3(2) prescribes Part 2 fees “on and from 1 July 2024”. The printed heading of Schedule 1, Part 2 reads “Fees on and from 1 June 2024”. This internal conflict introduces uncertainty about which fee schedule applies to applications lodged in June 2024. The instrument does not contain a transitional or saving clause to resolve the ambiguity. Practitioners should not assume the heading or the sub‑text is authoritative without checking which provision the administering Department will treat as operative.

3. Sharp fee changes for particular items

• Some fee items change materially between Part 1 and Part 2. Examples visible in the Schedule:
  • Centre‑based application for up to 15 children: Part 1 = 42.70 fee units; Part 2 = 49.45 fee units.
  • Home‑based late lodgement: Part 1 = 8.43 fee units; Part 2 = 28.02 fee units.
• These shifts mean timing of an application around the Part 1/Part 2 boundary can produce substantially different fee exposure.

4. Duplicate or identical fee numbers in Part 1 that change in Part 2

• In Part 1, some application fees across two bands are identical (for example centre-based application for up to 15 children and for 16-40 children both 42.70 fee units). In Part 2, those bands have different values (49.45 and 82.42 respectively). Misidentifying the correct band could under‑ or over‑pay.

5. “Vacation care programs only” category

• The Schedule provides a separate fee stream for centres providing vacation care programs only (Schedule 1, items 3(a)-(d)). Operators that sporadically run vacation care but otherwise provide regular care must be attentive to the classification that applies to their licence; the instrument does not define the boundary between these categories , the definitions and eligibility will be found in the Child Care Act 2001.

6. No concessions, waivers or procedural detail in text

• The regulations set flat fees and do not include express concessions, hardship relief, instalment arrangements, or fee recovery procedures. Any operational flexibilities will come from the Child Care Act 2001 or departmental policy. Do not rely on implicit departmental discretion until checked.

7. Administrative locus is single department

• The Department for Education, Children and Young People is the administering agency. For disputes, refunds, or clarification practitioners should direct inquiries there. The instrument does not specify an internal review mechanism for fee disputes.

8. Narrow scope , fees only on listed transactions

• Fees are prescribed only for the listed licence types and transaction types. If a transaction under the Child Care Act 2001 is not listed in Schedule 1, these regulations do not prescribe a fee for it. Absence of a line item does not necessarily mean no fee applies; the Child Care Act 2001 or other subordinate instruments might prescribe other charges.

9. Presentation and numbering

• The Schedule has duplicated heading lines and appears multiple times in the supplied text (tools that parse the instrument may misread the operative headings). Confirm the relevant Part and item numbers when advising clients.

In short, the primary practical hazards are uncertainty caused by an internal date mismatch, the need to convert fee units to a monetary amount, and significant fee quantum differences around the Part 1/Part 2 boundary. Procedurally, do not assume waiver or alternative arrangements exist without checking the Act and departmental guidance.

The regulations set out a small number of concrete compliance steps. The following is a practical compliance checklist based on the instrument text and Schedule items.

1. Identify the triggering event under the Child Care Act 2001

• Before payment, confirm whether the transaction is an application for licence, a renewal, a late lodgement of renewal, or a request for amendment. Schedule 1 item numbering is transactional,payment obligations attach to these events (Schedule 1, Parts 1 and 2, items 1-4).

2. Determine the correct licence category and capacity band

• For centre‑based licences, identify whether the centre is:
  • Not covered by item 3 (full‑service centre) or
  • A centre providing vacation care programs only (item 3).
• For centre‑based licences, determine the correct capacity band: up to 15, 16-40, 41-65, 66-90, or 91+ children. For home‑based licences the relevant band in the Schedule is “licensed for up to 7 children” (Schedule 1, Parts 1 and 2, items 2-4).
• Correct banding determines which fee item applies.

3. Identify the applicable fee period (Part 1 or Part 2)

• Check the date on which the application/renewal/ amendment request is made and which Part applies. Part 1 covers 5 June 2023 to 30 June 2024 for the fees listed (Schedule 1, Part 1; reg 3(1)). Part 2 is prescribed in reg 3(2) as applying “on and from 1 July 2024” (note the Schedule heading reads “1 June 2024” , see Gotchas). Confirm the Department’s published guidance on whether Part 2 applies from 1 June or 1 July 2024 before finalising payment.

4. Convert fee units into payable monetary amount

• The Schedule lists the numeric values in “Fee units”. The instrument does not define the monetary conversion. Before remitting funds, obtain the conversion rate or method from the Department or the statutory source that defines the fee unit. Do not assume the numeric value in the Schedule is a dollar amount.

5. Prepare to pay the exact prescribed fee

• Pay the exact prescribed fee corresponding to the correct Schedule item. Payment shortfalls, incorrect band selection or payment against the wrong Part risk procedural delay, late fee exposure, or rejection of an application (procedural consequences are governed by the Child Care Act 2001 and departmental practice).

6. Avoid late lodgement fees by meeting renewal deadlines

• Renewals have separate late lodgement fee items. To avoid additional charges, lodge renewal applications within the timeframe required by the Child Care Act 2001. If renewal is late, expect to pay the specific late lodgement amount listed for the relevant band (Schedule 1, Parts 1 and 2, items 2(c), 3(c), 4(c)).

7. Use the administering Department’s channels

• Direct payment and enquiries to the Department for Education, Children and Young People, which is the administering agency named in the instrument. Confirm from the Department the payment methods, invoicing procedure, evidence of payment required, and contact point for fee disputes or refunds.

8. Keep documentary evidence

• Retain receipts and correspondence verifying payment of the prescribed fee unit amount, the date of lodgement and the fee item used. Given the temporal risk around the Part 1/Part 2 cut‑over, contemporaneous evidence of the lodgement date will be important if a dispute arises about which Part applied.

9. If disputing fee quantum or banding, follow departmental review channels

• The regulations do not establish a dispute mechanism. If there is disagreement about the applicable fee or band, raise the matter with the Department and follow any internal review or objection procedure under the Child Care Act 2001. Escalation beyond administrative review will follow the pathways set out in the Act.

10. Monitor for amendments or departmental guidance

• Because the instrument as supplied has an internal inconsistency and lacks fee unit conversion, check the Department’s published guidance and any subsequent amending regulations to confirm the operative Part 2 effective date and fee unit conversion. Also watch for any published transitional guidance affecting applications around the cut‑over.

A short worked procedural example (conceptual only, using Schedule labels):

• If an operator is renewing a centre‑based licence for a centre licensed for 41 to 65 children, determine the correct Part based on the lodgement date (Part 1 or Part 2). Under Part 1, the renewal fee is 76.97 fee units (Schedule 1, Part 1, item 2(b)(iii)). Convert 76.97 fee units into the monetary amount using the Department’s or statutory conversion, then pay that amount when lodging the renewal application. If the renewal is late, pay the late lodgement fee listed for that band (Schedule 1, Part 1, item 2(c)(iii) = 28.65 fee units).

Following these steps will align the applicant’s payment with the specific prescriptions of the Schedule and reduce the risk of incorrect payment or unexpected late fees. Where doubt exists (especially about Part 2’s start date or the monetary value of a fee unit), seek clarification from the Department before remitting funds.