1. Do i just ring around at the different day care places in my area and request some info on enrolment/requirements etc?
I did this - I rang up and asked if anyone had availability for the days I was wanting. I rang about 40 centres and found 3 that had places available and that was because a child had had a birthday and had moved into the next room. I was told that the space would probably fill within a week. So I went on a tour of those centres that had a space available, and chose the one that I was most happy with. (I really like to look at how the staff talk to and interact with the children. The centre I chose impressed me because as I walked around with Natalie the staff came and spoke to me and also spoke to her.)

2. Is there a waiting list? Should i try and enrol ds now?
Ask when you make your phone calls. Might be worth starting to ring around now so you have the option of putting his name on a list in case there's no availability anywhere you like when you're ready to put him in.

3. How do i help ds adjust to going to day care? I was thinking i'd start him off with maybe an hour or two a week with me there with him and then progress to 1-2 hours without me, then maybe half a day then work up to a full day or even possibly 2 full days a week does this sound right? Ds is really mummy obsessed at the moment so i worry about him getting upset without me there but he does love playing with other kids and i've noticed he's quite happy to run off and play with the other kids at playgroup.
DD was 18mo when she started and I found it was a lot less traumatic if I dropped her off and left. Otherwise she would cling on to me and it kind of defeated the purpose. So we dropped her and she'd cry for a few minutes, then we would ring throughout the day to see how she was getting on. (She was always fine.) I started her off on short days - 4-ish hours, then we progressed to longer days after a couple of weeks.

I'm no use to you on the last question, but you've already gotten a couple of responses there. Best thing is just to ring the FAO and chat to them about it (have your CRN ready and they will issue your DS with a CRN too. Once it's all set up you should get the rebate automatically each quarter, provided your CCC is on the new system).

GL with it all!