Eligible families may now claim the federal government's childcare subsidy rebate when using Orange Occasional Care.
The Occasional Care Cottage in Kite Street is a community-based, not-for-profit centre within Orange City Council's Children's Services network. Occasional Care provides flexible child care in an emergency, short-term or on a temporary basis for children aged between six weeks and five years.
Orange Mayor Reg Kidd welcomed the change and said it would make the service more affordable.
"Orange Occasional Care is a one-of-a-kind service in Orange for anyone who needs short-term, flexible care for their children," Cr Kidd said.
"It's great for parents or carers who do shift work, or casual shifts who need flexible hours instead of being locked into a set weekly bookings as is the case with most long-day care centres.
"It's also perfect for people who have appointments, job interviews or simply for people who want to get the shopping done, have a haircut, or have some respite from having young children in tow."
Orange Occasional Care has been successful in its bid to qualify for the federal government's child care subsidy, which means eligible families will pay less per hour for the service.
Orange City Council's Senior Children's Services Coordinator Melissa Stanford said parents and carers need to check with Centrelink about their eligibility for the child care subsidy.
"The child care subsidy is means tested but in most cases, families will pay considerably less to send their children to our Occasional Care Service," Ms Stanford said.
"We have also recently extended our opening hours from Monday to Friday 8.30am to 4.30pm.
"These two initiatives combined will make Orange Occasional care a very attractive service for a lot more families in the area."
Ms Stanford encourages anyone interested in learning more about Orange Occasional Care, or Orange Family Day care to attend a free twilight playgroup at the Occasional Care cottage at 85 Kite Street on Wednesday between 5pm and 7pm. All guests must register with Eventbrite ahead of the event.
Contact Orange Occasional Care on 6393 8670 for information.
