Our mission describes how we intend to the go about achieving this undertaking – which is by:

Encouraging competitive child care businesses which provide quality outcomes for Australian family day care children through:

Our values underpin who we are and how we deliver our service – as a team and within our communities.

•	Integrity - we conduct our business and ourselves honestly and reliably
•	Ethics - we are fair and just in advocating for family day care and our constituents, and in working with our clients and our staff
•	Progressiveness - we look towards the future, using new technology or methods and effecting change where necessary to achieve our goals
•	Relevance - we recognise the need to keep abreast of emerging trends and maintain strong links with other childcare peak bodies to deliver better outcomes for children in family day care
•	Professionalism - we are constantly striving to improve the way in which we operate to ensure we provide the highest standard of service to our constituents and the community
•	Financial responsibility - we implement sound financial management strategies to safeguard the economic future of the organisation
•	Accountability - we understand the need to be open and honest and are at all times accountable to our members for our actions

Our History

FDCA was formed in 1988 to provide effective advocacy and promotion of the family day care program on a national level. Our purpose then, as it is now, was to influence social policy and give the family day care community a national, cohesive voice.

Today we are a member-based financially independent organisation with a national office in Gosford on the NSW central coast, 1.25 hours north of Sydney. We provide information, policy advice and advocacy regarding the family day care program, promote family day care as a quality child care choice and career option, and offer an extensive range of family day care specific products and services to a growing member base.

Our commitment to representing the family day care community, by consulting with individuals working at the grass roots level within the program, remains an intrinsic part of our organisation and is critical to our ongoing success as a national peak organisation.

FDCA is an apolitical, independent national body that supports the traditional family day care model of a central coordination unit working in partnership with carers, families, service operators and local communities.

To view some of FDCA’s key achievements click here

Our Corporate Structure

FDCA is a non-profit company limited by guarantee – governed by an elected Board comprising two elected Directors from each State and Territory. These voluntary Directors are nominated for election from within the FDCA membership base through FDCA's Members' Forums (formerly STACs). Nominees must be FDCA voting class Members, ie Individual, Scheme or Organisation.

Individual, Scheme and Organisational Members in each State and Territory are eligible to vote for nominees through a postal ballot process.

Directors hold office for a two year term commencing at the organisation’s AGM in September of each year. Office bearers (President, Secretary and Treasurer) similarly hold office for a two year term. These positions are filled at the Board Meeting held immediately after the AGM.

The Board sets the strategic direction for the organisation and carries the legal responsibility for effective governance.

Click here for Director profiles

In 2004 Family Day Care Australia was the inaugural winner of the Blake Dawson Waldron Award for Excellence in Corporate Governance

Click here for more information

Our Team and Activities

Our overall objective is to ensure the strength and continued growth of family day care as a high quality child care option and career choice. We do this by working on behalf of the workers and consumers – carers, coordination unit staff, service operators and families.

Our national office team, comprising 17 permanent staff led by a Chief Executive Officer, is responsible for the development and implementation of the organisation’s Annual Work Plan derived from the Strategic Plan set by the Board.

FDCA major operational areas are:

•	Lobbying, representation and advocacy
•	Marketing, media relations and events
•	Business development and member services
•	Finance and Human Relations
•	Board and Executive liaison

The bulk of our expenditure goes into helping and representing our members. We pride ourselves on the personalised attention that family day care scheme staff and carers receive through our dedicated Scheme Liaison Officer and our Member Services Consultants. All new carers are warmly welcomed into family day care and assisted with the things they need to know to get them set up, eg insurance, quality assurance etc

National office operations are managed by our General Manager Monique Webber.

Click here for staff directory

Effective communication with the field and interested others is delivered through a range of quality publications including:

•	a high quality magazine – JiGSAW – which delivers a broad range of information, resources in the form of articles, updates and news in a reader-friendly format
•	a regular e-newsletter – Family Day Care Matters – which provides broad child care policy overview and other relevant information to members
•	marketing updates – providing news and information to support marketing at the scheme level
•	member bulletins – scheme and carer – delivering key information as it arises.

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