FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS
This document comprises a list of frequently asked questions about the Kindergarten Census Data Collection. If you have a question that is not addressed in the list,
please contact either the KIM Help Desk on 1800 614 810 or kim@edumail.vic.gov.au (for technical advice) or your Department regional office (for kindergarten
funding policy advice).
Kindergarten Census
Q
What are the timelines for the data collection?
A
The August kindergarten census data collection will take place from 28 July to 31 August 2014 to collect attendance and fee data during the national
census week (28 July – 3 August 2014).
Q
How do you define “absent” in the kindergarten census form? Does it mean the child doesn’t attend the kindergarten program for the whole of census
week or only part of it?
A
The census form collects information about child attendance during the national census week (28 July – 3 August 2014) to determine the total hours
each child attended in that week. If a child is absent for the whole week, further questions will be asked about their absence.
1. Sessional Kindergarten:
In the census form, the days the children normally attend the kindergarten program are pre-populated with a tick (). To indicate the day(s) the
children did not attend the kindergarten program during the census week, you must un-tick those days.
2. Integrated into a Long Day Care program:
The children enrolled in the funded kindergarten program are pre-populated in the census form. You are required to enter the hours and minutes
(rounded to the quarter hour) that each child attended the kindergarten program during the census week.
Q
If my service delivers a sessional program, what do I enter as the fee paid per child? Is the fee only for their attendance during census week?
A
Enter the fee paid by the family to your service (the family’s out of pocket expense) to attend the kindergarten program. This could be per week, term
or year (you can select from a few options) and does not apply only to the census week. For example, if the child is eligible for Kindergarten Fee
Subsidy, the fee paid by the family to the service may be $0 so you would enter $0 in the fee paid column.
Q
For long day care, how do I calculate the fee the family paid for a child to attend the overall long day care program in the census week (after any
subsidies or discounts have been deducted) when in some cases, subsidies/rebates are paid directly to the family instead of the service? Is the fee
only for their attendance during census week?
A
The fee is the amount that the family paid to the service for the overall long day care program as shown on the family’s account (after CCB is applied
but before CCR and any other discounts they may be eligible for) for the period covering the census week only (28 July – 3 August 2014).
Help Desk: 1800 614 810
kim@edumail.vic.gov.au
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FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS
Q
My service offers both sessional groups AND groups integrated in a long day care (LDC) program. How do I complete census in KIM?
A
The census form will ask you to enter child attendance and fees paid in census week for sessional groups, as well as information about your long day
care program groups. Please follow all sections of the Quick Reference Guide: How to complete the Kindergarten Census if your service offers
both sessional groups and groups integrated in a LDC program.
Q
Do I need to enter a reason for absence for each child?
A
You are only required to enter a reason for absence if the child was absent for the entire census week. If they have attended in the last 4 weeks or if
they haven’t attended in the last 4 weeks, but are expected to return, you must select one of the following absence reasons:





Illness
Holidays
Family reasons
Planned closure
Other
Q
How do I change the hours in the Funded Kindergarten Hours Offered section?
A
This section is pre-populated with information you have previously entered. It is currently not possible to change this information in KIM, however you
can still submit the census form with these pre-populated program hours even if they may not be correct. This information will not affect the results of
the census or your funding.
Help Desk: 1800 614 810
kim@edumail.vic.gov.au
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