The ISP has a focus on building child care services’ ability and confidence to include children with additional needs and relying less on ISP funding support.
ECEC services accessing inclusion support through this program are making a commitment to building their capacity and capability to ensure inclusion practices are part of their every day service delivery.
The Inclusion Support Program is funded by the Australian Government Department of Education, Skills and Employment. For additional information, including Frequently Asked Questions, refer to the
department’s website.
Child Care Subsidy Requirements
All children included in an Inclusion Development Fund (IDF) application or approval must meet the eligibility requirements for Child Care Subsidy. This includes meeting residency rules and immunisation requirements. Please see Inclusion Support Program and Child Care Subsidy Eligibility Requirements Fact Sheet.
For further information about child eligibility requirements:
• IDF Subsidy for an Additional Educator
• Immediate/Time Limited Support
• FDC Top Up
Please note that child eligibility requirements are only one of the criteria which must be met for a service to be eligible for IDF Subsidy.
The IS Portal
The IS Portal is a user-friendly web-based application to facilitate early childhood care and education (ECEC) services’ interaction with the Inclusion Support Program. It enables ECEC services to develop an online Strategic Inclusion Plan (SIP) to help in addressing the barriers to inclusion and embed inclusive practices at their service. When required ECEC services use the IS Portal to access funding through the Inclusion Development Fund (IDF).
The authentication process to access the IS Portal is PRODA. Please contact your Inclusion Agency in the first instance to assist with accessing the IS Portal. For further written information please read
the Inclusion Support Portal access using PRODA fact sheet.
Do you need further information or technical support?
For further information about accessing the IS Portal refer to the Department "
IS Portal Information" page, including the
Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs) Inclusion Support Portal.
Clearing the cache in your web browser regularly will help the IS Portal to function as intended. Below are instructions which can be used to clear the cache for different browsers:
Internet Explorer
Firefox
Google Chrome
If you need technical support, refer to the
Where to go for technical support for the Inclusion Support (IS) Portal.
About Inclusion Agency (IA)
Each state and territory has an IA to assist services to build their capability and capacity to provide and embed inclusive practices in their delivery of early childhood and child care services. IAs employ skilled Inclusion Professionals (IPs) who provide tailored support to eligible ECEC services to address inclusion barriers and develop their inclusion capability. This will occur through the development of a Strategic Inclusion Plan (SIP) using reflective practice and a strengths based approach.
About the Inclusion Development Fund (IDF)
Under the ISP, funding will be available for ECEC services to address barriers to inclusion through the Inclusion Development Fund (IDF), including subsidising the employment of an additional educator in Centre Based Day Care and Outside School Hours Care services, a subsidy top up for FDC educators and funding to support innovative and flexible solutions to inclusion barriers.
There are four funding streams available to address barriers to inclusion that cannot be resolved through support from an IA or the SEL. The four streams of IDF support have different eligibility criteria, application processes and approved funding purposes.
- IDF Subsidy for an Additional Educator provides per hour funding to Centre Based Day Care and Outside School Hours Care services. This subsidises the employment of an additional educator to increase the educator to child ratio in the care environment. The increased ratio assists educators to support the inclusion of children with ongoing high support needs alongside their typically developing peers.
- The IDF Subsidy for Immediate/Time Limited Support enables Centre Based Day Care and Outside School Hours Care services to immediately engage an Additional Educator to assist with the inclusion of a child with additional and high support needs. This is for a limited period while alternative and more stable support options are determined.
- The IDF FDC Top Up provides a fee top up payment to an educator who is including a child with additional and ongoing high support needs. If the child requires significant additional support resulting in the educator being unable to enrol the maximum number of children allowed under National Law the educator may be eligible for FDC Top Up.
- Innovative Solutions Support funds flexible and alternative solutions to address inclusion barriers which are not funded under other IDF support streams and addressed through support provided by the Inclusion Agency. Inclusion Agencies can assist services to identify and apply for Innovative Solutions Support. IDF Information for Services brochure.