Childcare Credit Reference Database
As a small business in the childcare industry, offering credit is an essential business practice. But today more than ever it pays to be informed. You should have an effective means of assessing a parent/guardian's credit history that allows you to mitigate your financial risk.
As Australia's only full integrated debt recovery service and credit reference database dedicated to the childcare industry, we'll not only reduce the time you spend following up delinquent accounts, but limit your exposure to bad debts in the first instance.
This credit reference database was developed to report on childcare debts that otherwise aren't listed on other commercial databases due to the size of individual amounts.
Key Features
- Pre-enrolment Search - Search for a history of unpaid fees with our pre-enrolment search and adjust your credit policies appropriately. Simply include this easy to use check in your enrolment process to be instantly pre-warned of a potential debtor.
- Default Listing - Any parent or family that leaves a childcare service with unpaid childcare fees may be listed on the Childcare Credit Reference database for a period of five years. Listing your bad debts in our system not only pre-warns other childcare operators but you’ll have a significantly better chance of recovering your debt.
Assess default risk and reduce bad debts
Before accepting a new enrolment assess the parents/guardian's past credit history to see if another credit provider has reported a default on the applicant's credit file.
A pre-enrolment enquiry provides you with a parents/guardian's credit history which is drawn from information on our database containing the most comprehensive list of childcare credit history in Australia.
You'll have access to an individual's credit history that will include the following types of information:
- Identity particulars – name, sex, date of birth, address(including previous 2 addresses), current or last known employer, CRN particulars and drivers licence details
- Details of any account that is overdue by more than 60 days, and debt recovery has commenced
- Status of past overdue accounts (even after they are settled)
- Any dishonoured cheques drawn by the defaulter for $100 or more which have been dishonoured more than once
- Default judgements and court writs
How much does it cost?
Our pricing plans include graded rates linked to the overall size and type of your organisation (multi-site and multi-year discounts may apply).
- Long-day Care - $363.00* pa (inc GST)
- Occasional School Hours Care (OSHC)- $235.40* pa (inc GST)
- Family Day Care - $23.54* pa (inc GST)
*Prices are current from 1 July 2011
What else should I know?
To access consumer files you must subscribe to this service and have appropriate privacy notices and consent (verbal or written) from applicants.
Your subscription includes free default listing and skip alerts to help recovery delinquent accounts.
We recommend adding the following condition of enrolment clause to your enrolment forms.
Notice of disclosure to a credit reporting agency
"It is a condition of enrolment that your personal details may be provided to a credit reporting/reference agency before, during or after the provision of credit for the purpose of collecting overdue payments and to assess your application prior to accepting enrolment at this childcare facility. This information may include:
- Identity particulars – your name, sex, date of birth, address (including previous 2 addresses), current or last known employer, your CRN particulars and your drivers licence details
- The fact that we are a current credit provider to you
- A record of credit where the amount outstanding become overdue by more than 60 days(defaults), for which debt collection action has started
- The fact that a previously listed default has been remedied
- Cheques for an amount greater than $100.00 drawn by you which have been dishonoured more than once
- Information that in our opinion you have committed a serious credit infringement (acted fraudulently or shown an intention not to comply with your credit obligations)