This section steps through the finance and reporting responsibilities for your community hub. There are two types of funding:
- Hub funding – this covers the salaries of your hub plus associated costs of those employed in your hub, and
- English and childminding funding – applied for by your hub leader to run conversational English activity and associated childminding support in the hub.
Hub funding
Community Hubs Australia (CHA) provides funding to schools to operate the National Community Hubs Program on their premises. The funding agreement specifies at least 90% of funding must be spent on salaries and associated costs of people employed to work in the hub.
For the first two years of operation, CHA provides the full funding required for each community hub. From the third year onwards, this amount is reduced slightly, and schools contribute financially to the program each year. This is detailed in the funding schedule of your contract with us.
Hub funding is paid to schools 30 June and 31 December each year, to cover the salaries of the hub for the upcoming six-month period.
Hub funding is paid by recipient created tax invoice (RCTI). This is a payment method in which the recipient of goods or services (in this case, Community Hubs Australia) raises a purchase order on behalf of the supplier of the goods or services (in this case, your school).
Every six months, CHA automatically issues schools with a RCTI, payment to a nominated school bank account, and following payment, a remittance advice.
Please note: For NSW government schools – the RCTI will be sent to your school, indicating the amount of funding your school will receive. The funds are paid directly to EDConnect who then journal the funds directly to your school.
We have listened to school feedback, making things easier by removing the need for your school to invoice us every six months to receive hub funding.
1. Before payment, your school will receive a RCTI from accounts@communityhubs.org.au.
This document provides an account of the funding that will be paid to your school for the 30 June and 31 December milestone payments (as set out in your agreement with us). To see an example, click here. For NSW government schools, click here.
2. Funds will be transferred to your nominated school bank account via electronic funds transfer (EFT) on the milestone payment date of 30 June and 31 December. For NSW government schools, funds will be transferred to EDConnect.
3. Following payment, your school will receive a remittance advice from accounts@communityhubs.org.au confirming funds have been transferred to your school’s bank account. To see an example, click here. For NSW government schools, EDConnect will receive the remittance advice and will journal the funds directly to your school.
Yes, you do. There are two key points in the year when your school is required to complete a financial acquittal for the hub funding CHA provides your school – 31 January and 31 July.
The section below guides you through what an acquittal is, when and how to submit the acquittal, along with a video and frequently asked questions.
Financial acquittals
There are two key points in the year when your hub is required to complete and submit a financial acquittal for the hub funding that CHA provides – 31 January and 31 July. The sections below guide you through what an acquittal is, when and how to submit the acquittals, along with a video and Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs).
A financial acquittal is a confirmation of how the hub funding CHA has provided in the previous six-month period has been spent and on what. Remember, the financial acquittal specifically relates to the funding towards the salaries and associated costs of people employed to work in your hub. You need to complete the financial acquittal as an online form in SmartyGrants, including the following information:
- Any hub funding that you have declared as carry forward from the last reporting period. This is recorded as the balance of your last financial acquittal.
- The amount of hub funding your school has received from CHA to run your hub for this period (either 1 January – 30 June or 1 July – 31 December).
- The funding contribution your school has made in this period. Remember, if your hub has been operating for more than two years, your school is obliged under the funding agreement with CHA to contribute a set amount. Please refer to your funding agreement for details.
- Total funding spent on salaries and other associated costs. Remember that 90% of the total allocation of funding must be spent on salaries and associated costs of people employed to work in your hub. This is detailed in your funding agreement with CHA.
- Funding allocated to ‘other expenses’, including a brief description.
- Funding balance at the end of the six-month period.
- Any amounts as GST exclusive (e.g. $X +GST).
- Confirmation on whether your school’s bank account details (BSB and account number) have changed – unless you have a prior arrangement or are a NSW government school.
Your financial acquittal does not include other program funding, for example English classes.
Hub funding financial acquittals are due:
1. By 31 July for the period 1 Jan to 30 June
2. By 31 Jan for the period 1 July to 31 December
When you have collated the information for your financial acquittals, you will need to log in to SmartyGrants and complete the form online. Here’s how:
1. Go to communityhubs.smartygrants.com.au.
2. Log in using the school email address and password you’ve previously set up in SmartyGrants.
3. Click on ‘Log in’.
4. Go to the top right corner and click on ‘My Submissions’.
5. Underneath the application number, you will see a small blue drop-down arrow to the right (highlighted blue below). Click on the arrow and you will see the acquittal form.
6. Click on the ‘Financial Acquittal January – June 2023’ (highlighted red below) and complete all fields.
7. Click ‘Submit’ to upload your financial acquittal.
Q. What if our school has not spent the full hub funding amount for the six-month period?
A. We realise things change, so if your school has not used all of the funding for the six-month period, it can be carried forward to the next period. Where your school reports unspent funds, Bec Kotow, CHA’s Head of Operations will contact your school ahead of the next funding payment.
English and childminding funding
Community Hubs Australia (CHA) has received funding from the Department of Home Affairs (DHA) to provide conversational English with childminding in the hubs until June 2023. This funding enables conversational English in the hubs to complement and support the existing Adult Migrant English Program (AMEP), where new arrivals are able to access free English tuition.
Your school has the option to apply for funding for English programs, childminding or both.
We notify your hub leader when funding is available and it is up to your hub leader to apply for funding through SmartyGrants (our online grant application platform).
To learn more about English and childminding funding requirements, how to invoice and answers to commonly asked questions, please visit this page on Hub Toolbox.