Articles on: Kindergarten

Gap Discounts - SA Flying Start Funding

The **Flying Start Kindy program **is a government-funded, play-based preschool initiative for 3-year-olds in South Australia, offering up to 15 hours per week of teacher-led early learning to build confidence, curiosity, and foundational skills.


From 2026, if your child attends 3-year-old preschool at a South Australian centre, they’ll benefit from extra initiatives designed to strengthen the program and support families, such as:

  • Preschool Boost – additional funding to help services meet the needs of children and families, which may include access to allied health or specialist support.
  • Ongoing Professional Learning – dedicated training and development opportunities for our teachers and educators to keep building their skills and knowledge.
  • Quality Uplift – tailored assistance for services that would benefit from extra guidance to enhance teaching practices, environments, and overall program quality.


To view further information about the Flying Start Kindy program see: Delivering 3-year-old preschool



How fee relief will work with the Child Care Subsidy


The different level of payment per child in long day care services recognises that most families in long day care services are eligible to receive the Australian Government’s Child Care Subsidy (CCS).


The CCS does not apply to community and mobile preschools or Department of Education preschools.


Creating the SA Funding Gap Discount


  1. Calculate required Gap discount amounts
  2. Apply Child Tag's e.g. 3YO Kindy Funding 2026
  3. Setup Gap Discounts by Amount/Percentage
  4. Apply the Discount


Note: It is important to add the child Tags on prior to creating a Discount by Rule, to allow the Discounts to automatically be applied. If the Tags are added on AFTER the discount is created, use the direct apply discounts for the child/ren. see: Apply Direct Discounts


Step 1: Calculate the SA Gap Discount


Depending on how many hours your Kindy program runs for, this process will assist you with calculating the amount of funding for your Service/Per child.
Items to consider:


  • Daily Kindy program hours
  • Total session hours e.g. 12hr, 10hr etc.


Example:

  • Total session hours = 10
  • Total fee charged = $150.00 / 10hrs
  • Hourly fee charged = $15.00
  • Total Kindy Program hours = 7.5

Total Kindy hours x Hourly Fee = $112.50 Total Weekly 15hr Kindy reduction


Note: To assist you further with the calculations, see: ACT/SA Kindy Funding report



Scenario 1

Your Service provides a 10hr session for children, and the Kindy program runs 7.5hr per day.




Session Hours

Fee

Program Hours

Current Gap

Hourly Gap

Program Gap

% Gap Discount

Original

Child 1

10

$150

7.5

$50

$5

$37.50

75%

Gap decreased

Child 1

10

$150

7.5

$45

$5

$33.75

75%

Gap increased

Child 1

10

$150

7.5

$55

$6

$41.25

75%


Scenario 2

Your Service provides a 12hr session for children, and the Kindy program runs 7.5hr per day.




Session Hours

Fee

Program Hours

Current Gap

Hourly Gap

Program Gap

% Gap Discount

Original

Child 2

12

$150

7.5

$50

$4

$31.25

62.50%

Gap decreased

Child 2

12

$150

7.5

$45

$4

$28.13

62.50%

Gap increased

Child 2

12

$150

7.5

$55

$5

$34.38

62.50%


Step 2: Applying Tag's


Tags are a powerful way to identify specific children and scenarios within Xap. They provide flexibility for organizing information and can be used as filters in reporting.
Additionally, tags can be applied to manage discounts, making them a useful tool for both administration and billing.


Step 1: Applying Tag's


Tags are a powerful way to identify specific children and scenarios within Xap. They provide flexibility for organising information and can be used as filters in reporting.
Additionally, tags can be applied to manage discounts, making them a useful tool for both administration and billing.


To apply Tag's


  1. From within your Families Screen, select the Children Tab
  2. Select the Filter icon
Note: For children attending multiple centres or with split families, remove the standard tag and apply a specific tag then use direct discount instead.



  1. Apply Filters as required, to identify the child/ren, in this example by Age, Room & Bookings from details.
  2. Select Update Search



  1. Select the child/ren
  2. Select Bulk Action
  3. Select Add Tag



  1. Select/Create the required Tag
  2. Select Save



Step 2a: Create the Gap Discounts- Apply Weekly


  1. Within the Settings screen, select the Discount Setup icon

  1. Select the Green + Add button

  1. Select the Centre name if you are in Enterprise mode
  2. Add the Discount name
  3. Select Gap Discount
  4. Select the Discount Category
  5. Add a Description
  6. Select Amount/Percentage
  7. Set Bookings from Date, a Bookings to Date can be added if required.
  8. Set the Maximum Discount dollar limit
  9. Tick Staff members can apply a discount up to the set amount/percentage - this allows variable amounts to be applied up to the maximum amount added in step 10
  10. Select Save


Step 4: Apply the Discount


Search on the child/ren via the Bookings screen by the e.g. SA Tags

  • Bulk Action
  • Apply Discounts



  • Select Gap discount
  • Select the required Discount name
  • Select the filters for adding the discount eg. Child Tag or child name
  • Add in the $ amount to be discounted
  • Save




For a further breakdown see: Applying Direct Discounts


SA Flying Start State Funding on Family Statement



Statement screen



Discount on Statement





Discount view per booking






For further information regarding discounts see: Help Page - Managing Discounts in Xap

Updated on: 17/06/2026

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