Important – Please Read Carefully
There are a few essential tasks that parents must complete before your Small Friend’s first week with us. These steps are important and time-sensitive — if not completed, they may impact your family’s eligibility for certain entitlements or benefits.
As these tasks require your direct input, we’re unable to complete them on your behalf. Please read on for full details and ensure everything is actioned promptly.
Parent Checklist
Ensure all of your Small Friend’s documentation is with us - including immunisation statement and birth certificate.
Set Up Parent Xplor Home accounts and add ALL Contacts.
Add your banking details to your Xplor Home account.
Your Child Care Subsidy assessment is processing or has been approved.
Confirm Enrolment on My Gov and sign your CWA on Xplor.
Please also note that missing documents such as your Small Friend’s Australian Immunisation Record, or incomplete tasks could mean we can not continue with enrolment.
1. Documentation
The following documents must be either uploaded when you complete your Small Friend’s enrolment form, emailed or presented to us in person within the timeframes mentioned below.
Australian Immunisation Record -This document needs to be presented before your Small Friend’s first day, either by uploading whilst completing their enrolment form, emailed to us, or present it for us to take a copy on the first day.
Please be aware of federal government legislations and policies regarding your child’s immunisation record. No Jab No Play - Your child must be immunised to enrol with us. No Jab No Pay - Immunisations must be up to date at all times if you wish to claim the Child Care Subsidy. If you’re late with getting your child’s AIR up to date, Centrelink will turn off CCS payments, and have been known to not backdate CCS payments if the time between your child’s birthday and their updated immunisation appointment is too long. This may result in full fees being charged without subsidy.
Birth Certificate - Please ensure a copy is with us within a week of your Small Friend’s first day. If you cannot locate it, please send an email to inform us that you need time to find it.
2. Your Xplor Home Account/s
National regulations around the authorised persons who sign your Small Friend in/out each day are strict, and to ensure we adhere to these rules and prioritise your child’s safety we expect all parents/guardians take on the responsibility in making sure that the person who is signing their child in/out each day is using their own details to do so so that the records we have for authorised persons is true and correct at all times.
Each parent/guardian must have their own Xplor account to sign your Small Friend in/out using our QR code. Parents/guardians cannot share an Xplor Home account. When it comes to family members and friends who you authorise to drop off and/or pick up your Small Friend, they must all be added as a Contact/Hub Guest to your Xplor account so that they have their own log in details ready to sign in/out.
When it comes to utilising the features of Xplor Home, we use the app to :
Sign your Small Friend in and out each day with ease.
Access your account in one place — view fee charges, statements, and Child Care Subsidy details anytime.
Manage bookings easily — view current bookings and add booking requests directly through the Xplor Home app.
Keep in touch quickly — use the app to message us if you're running late or if your Small Friend will be away due to illness or holidays.
Stay in the loop — we send important updates straight to your Xplor Home inbox and/or your email, so be sure your notifications are switched on!
We don’t use the Xplor Home app for:
Observations or learning documentation – We use Earlyworks to capture and share your Small Friend’s learning journey, guided by the EYLF.
Daily care updates – Toileting, nappy changes, meals, and sleep times can be shared with you at pick-up. Just ask — we’re always happy to chat!
Sharing special moments – For a peek into the magic that happens in our house each day, be sure to follow us on Facebook and Instagram — that’s where the smiles live! Or see our weekly journals on Earlyworks.
Please check your inbox for your invitation to set up your Xplor Home account. If you don’t see it, be sure to check your junk or spam folder before contacting us. If you still can’t find the invite, email us at ourteam@smallfriendsfalcon.com.au and we’ll gladly resend it. Please note, your invitation link is valid for 24 hours. If you don’t set up your account within that time, you’ll need to request a new invitation from us.
Already Have An Xplor Account? If you have, or are using Xplor Home because you have other children attending, or your Small Friend has attended another service, we will not be able to add your email address to your Small Friends account. To get your connection sorted to us you will need to call Xplor Support on 03 8652 1963, and request that they disconnect you from the other service. Unfortunately we cannot help you with this disconnection.
Contacts Once you've set up your Xplor account/s it is the Primary Parent’s responsibility to add all family members and friends who are authorised to drop off and collect your Small Friend, as Contacts within your Xplor Home account. As a Contact they will then be able to sign your Small Friend in/out with either their mobile number and and 4 digit access code, or their email and password. They cannot at any time use a parent/guardians log in details to sign in/out.
We will not allow any of the children in our house to be released into the care of people that we cannot identify, so we expect for the Primary Parent/Guardian to ensure that your family’s Contacts list is up to date at all times.
Your Contacts list needs to include all of the Emergency Contacts you included on your Small Friend’s enrolment form, plus everyone else that will be helping you out. If at any time a Contact forgets their log in details they can ask us to reset their log in details. They will then receive a reset email and will have 2 hours to update their log in details.
3. Add Your Banking Details
Your first fee charge will be set up to run the Wednesday after your Small Friend’s first week in our world, so please ensure your banking details for the account you wish to have fees charged to are entered in your Xplor Home app as soon as possible. Should your bank details need to be changed you can do so through your Xplor Home app.
4. The Child Care Subsidy (CCS)
Please note that as your child care provider we have no control over your CCS eligibility assessment as this government assistance process is solely the responsibility of parents/guardians. We must have your Small Friend’s Customer Reference Number and the parent they are connected to for you CCS assessment. If we do not have these 2 numbers we will assume you do not wish to claim the CCS and fees will be charged a full rate.
Have Been Assessed If you have already received CCS approval notification to your myGov inbox stating your CCS percentage and the hours within a fortnight CCS, then this data will come into your Small Friends account as soon as you confirm enrolment in your myGov account.
Yet To Be Assessed To start an assessment you need to log in to your myGov account to start the process online, or call Centrelink on 13 61 50.
We advise that if you have not looked into this process a week out from your Small Friend’s first day, that you commit to starting your assessment immediately as CCS eligibility assessments can take up to 28 days to complete, and at certain times in the year even longer.
While waiting for CCS approval you are expected to pay full fees so please be prepared for this cost.
Once assessment is completed you will receive notification via your myGov account which will include Customer Reference Numbers (CRN) for your child and the parent to which your child is linked to within the government system. If you haven’t already included these numbers on your enrolment form, we require both CRN’s as soon as possible to update your Small Friend's enrolment.
If you have been approved then you must follow through with the enrolment confirmation tasks as stated below so that your CCS data can come through to our accounts software. Once you have confirmed enrolment, we will be able to see your CCS eligibility data; the CCS payments you are eligible for will start applying to fees, and our accounts software will start charging just the Gap Fee.
PLEASE NOTE If you see any changes to your CCS percentage or hours in your Xplor Home details, you will need to contact Centrelink to make enquiries, as we can not do so on your behalf.
5. Confirming Enrolment
If you’re not planning to claim CCS then you're all done with regard to the enrolment process.
If you’re planning on claiming the CCS please be aware that enrolment confirmation is solely your responsibility, and neither we nor Centrelink can help with your connection. So to get this one happening you must complete the following steps :
Sign your Complying Written Agreement CWA in your Xplor Home app by following the link in the related email which you will receive.
Log into your myGov account and confirm enrolment there. Please note if you notice that the bookings showing in your Small Friends’s myGov enrolment details are incorrect please do not DISPUTE the bookings within myGov as this will put a stop on your CCS eligibility data coming through to us. Please send us an email stating what changes need to be made, then once we have amended the bookings you will be able to complete confirmation.
Please note that approved Child Care Subsidy (CCS) payments will not be applied to fees until enrolment is fully confirmed. From the week prior to your Small Friend’s first day until the first fee charge is processed on the Wednesday following their first week, you have just over two weeks to complete all necessary requirements and ensure your CCS is activated to support your family budget.
Fee Charges & Bookings
Your first fee charge will run on the Wednesday following your Small Friend's first week in our world.
Fee charges run every Wednesday (no exceptions) for all families.
We keep all family accounts a week in advance at all times, so your first charge will include an additional week of fees as well as your $80 enrolment fee. Your enrolment fee also includes a Small Friends Housemates Tee so make sure you speak to one of wonderful educators to collect yours.
Please be aware of our Wednesday charge day and ensure you have funds available, as reversals due to insufficient funds will incur a dishonour fee as per your direct debit agreement. This fee is collected by Debit Success to cover their costs for reversed transactions.
All sessions are charged, including days your Small Friend is absent, sick, on holidays, or during public holidays. Please note, make-up or swap days are not permitted.
Booking Extra Days We ask that you use your Xplor Home app to request extra days. In a busy house requests need to have plenty of notice, and as the Xplor app does not show availability you need to check whether your booking has been confirmed or declined by checking the notifications in your app.
Staying Connected with Our Small Friends Family
We keep in touch with our Small Friends families through the Xplor Home app and emails, so please keep your notifications turned on to stay up to date with all the important news from the Small Friends house.
Daily and weekly updates are also displayed on the whiteboard by our front door and in the foyer — perfect for a quick check-in when you drop off or pick up your Small Friend.
Each term, we send out a newsletter packed with all the AMAZING moments and exciting plans ahead. We highly encourage you to read it so you’re always in the loop!
To share the magic beyond our walls, we invite you to join us on social media. Tap the links below to Like and Follow us, and be sure to turn on notifications so you never miss the wonderful moments we post throughout the week on Facebook! Our social channels also share program highlights and upcoming special events.
If you prefer that images of your child are not shared, please ensure you selected Disagree on the media permission question in your enrolment form. If you missed this, simply send us a “No To Media” request via email.
Feel free to tap the links below now and get ready to join the fun online!
Your Small Friend’s Week
To help your Small Friend settle smoothly from home to our house, we’ll work closely with you to determine the ideal length of their first few sessions. After you’ve said “See you later” on their first day, please keep your mobile phone handy and switched on. We’ll stay in touch as we assess their comfort and confidence, and may need to adjust their pick-up time to best support their transition.
Home to Small Friends Booklet
During your Small Friend’s first week, you’ll receive a Home to Small Friends booklet. We’d love for you to complete it as soon as possible so we can learn all about what makes them so AWESOME!
Growing Up in Our House
Transitioning to full days at Small Friends helps ensure your child feels confident and comfortable as they prepare for Kindy. Our morning and afternoon programs are quite different, so spending a full day with us supports their smooth adjustment. Here are some house rules when it comes to growing up in our house…
For 2-Year-Olds
Children aged 2 can book morning or afternoon sessions. Please note, each child is limited to a maximum of two morning or two afternoon sessions. If you require three or more sessions per week, full-day bookings will need to be considered.
For 3–4-Year-Olds
Morning or afternoon bookings are offered as a settling-in period and may continue for up to the first four weeks from your Small Friend’s start date, after which they will transition to full-day bookings. If needed, you also have the option to start with a full-day booking from the beginning.
For 5-Year-Olds
Morning or afternoon bookings are not available for 5-year-olds.
Please note that the number of morning and afternoon session spots is limited. If a short day spot is unavailable, you may request to be placed on our waitlist for the next opening or consider a full-day booking instead.
Full Day
7:45am – 5:00pm
Drop-offs before 7:45am are not permitted under any circumstances. Our centre closes promptly at 5:00pm, so please ensure your Small Friend is picked up by this time. Late pickups will incur a fee of $15 for the first 10 minutes, and $1 for each additional minute thereafter.
Morning Session
8:00am – 12:00pm
Please do not drop off before 8:00am or pick up after 12:00pm.
Afternoon Session
1:00pm – 5:00pm
Please be aware that the front door will not be answered before 1:00pm.
What to Pack for Your Small Friends Adventure
Full Day:
Please bring a piece of fruit or vegetable to share for both morning and afternoon tea, plus a cut lunch packed in a lunchbox. (Please avoid insulated lunch bags.)
Morning or Afternoon Sessions:
Please bring along a piece of fruit or vegetable to share.Every Day:
A water bottle clearly marked with your Small Friend’s name. Water only - no sugary drinks or milk.
A complete change of clothes, with each item clearly named (extra sets if your Small Friend is toilet training).
Hats are provided for our backyard adventures, but your Small Friend is welcome to bring their own favourite hat if they like.
Nappies if required (please pack 4-5 just in case).
Sun Safety Please apply the first layer of sunscreen before drop-off each day. If you forget, don’t worry — we keep sunscreen in our foyer for you to apply. We’ll reapply sunscreen throughout the day to keep your Small Friend protected while they explore outdoors.
Lunchbox When it comes to lunchboxes we ask that your Small Friends lunch be packed into a lunchbox only and not placed in an insulated lunch bag. Your Small friend’s lunch goes straight into the fridge, and whilst we have enough room for 40 lunchboxes in our fridges, we don’t quite have room for the extra space bags take up.
Bag Please ensure you’ve labelled your Small Friend’s bag and personal items. If they don’t have a bag tag on their backpack/bag we will attach one or our I’m A Small Friends tags.
Wardrobe Choices During the hotter months we need for our Small Friends to be wearing SunSmart clothing. PLEASE no tank tops or spaghetti strap dresses. If we feel we need to protect your Small Friends skin from the UV’s we will pop them in a tee shirt from our spare clothing basket.
Skin Health When it comes to your child’s skin health we need for families to be aware of the products we use in our house to keep your Small Friend healthy. These products include, Woolworths Sunscreen SPF 50+, OFF! mosquito and Insect Repellant, Little Ones Baby Wipes and Sudocrem. Should your child not be able to use these products, we need to you to complete our Skin Health form to let us know, and then supply the substitutes you wish for us to use. Tap Here to head to our Skin Health Form.
Have A Question? If you ever have a query about your Small Friend’s life in our world, or what’s happening in our week please never hesitate to send an email to ourteam@smallfriendsfalcon.com.au or have a chat with us at pick up time. For queries regarding the Child Care Subsidy, your account, fee charges and/or Inclusion Support funding we ask that you send through an email to us and we’ll get back to you as soon as we can..
We look forward to seeing your smiles at our front door!
