I also thought that the 24 hour a week limit for CCB for non- working parents would put off non working parents having child in care full time - I always thought was a bit of a myth about non working parents having kids in full time daycare?
there are many criteria for meeting the additional hours, not just working and studying. volunteering for 15+ hours a week, parent in prison or overseas, looking for work over 15 hours per week (this one is the hardest to police), having a disability or caring for an adult or child with a disability

there are also, as previously mentioned, "at risk" children - and for those kids, the centre will approach DEEWR to get the funding for additional hours. When Mum was doing FDC, the earliest a child could come in to care was 6 weeks, but i know she had at least 3 babies in care well before that age, for long periods of time, simply because they were at risk. it was sort of like foster care but only part time respite care.


i can't say i would be keen to be working out priority lists in any centre at any time! don't envy anyone that task at all