Occasional care
Selected care days requested as needed rather than reserved every week.
Call
(07) 3633 0813
Opening Hours
Monday–Friday
9:00 am–5:00 pm
9:00 am–5:00 pm
Call
(07) 3633 0813
Opening Hours
Monday–Friday
9:00 am–5:00 pm
9:00 am–5:00 pm
Occasional and Flexible Care
Care that responds to changing family circumstances
Where suitable educator capacity exists, occasional, short-term or changing care arrangements may be considered for families whose needs do not follow the same permanent weekly schedule.
What Flexible Care May Include
Flexible care is not one single arrangement. It describes requests that do not fit a permanent recurring weekly booking.
Changing rosters
Different care days requested according to a rotating employment schedule.
Short-term care
Care required for a defined period while a family manages a temporary circumstance.
Urgent enquiries
A request requiring a prompt response, without any guarantee that immediate care is available.
Illustrative family scenario
Amina and Zahra
A rotating hospital roster
Amina works a hospital roster that changes every fortnight. Her three-year-old daughter, Zahra, needs care on different weekdays each month.
Amina provides her roster as early as possible. Malaika Garden considers whether an educator has suitable capacity and whether the changing arrangement can be managed consistently and safely.
Flexible care may help in this situation, but the requested days cannot be guaranteed until availability is confirmed.
How a Flexible Request Is Considered
The service must understand the request before determining whether an educator may be able to support it.
Family enquiry
The family explains the required dates, hours, location and reason for the changing arrangement.
Availability review
The service considers whether a suitable educator has capacity.
Arrangement confirmed
Agreed days, notice expectations, fees and enrolment requirements are clarified.
Ongoing communication
The family provides future dates or roster information within the agreed timeframe.
Planning and Notice
Flexible care works best when families provide clear information and as much notice as their circumstances allow.
Information families should provide
- The child’s age
- The requested dates and hours
- The preferred care area
- How frequently the schedule may change
- When future dates are normally known
Arrangements to confirm
- How bookings are requested
- Required notice periods
- Whether a place can be reserved
- Applicable fees and cancellation conditions
- What happens when the educator has no vacancy
Important Limits
Flexible care does not mean that any requested day, hour or urgent placement will automatically be available.
Capacity
Educator vacancies may differ from one day to another.
Notice
Short notice may reduce the likelihood of finding an available placement.
Enrolment
Required information and authorisations must still be completed before care begins.
Continuity
Irregular attendance may make it harder to guarantee the same educator for every requested date.
Families should maintain alternative arrangements where care is not
yet confirmed.
Flexible Care Questions
Availability and booking conditions vary between educators.
Can I request different days every week?
You may submit a changing schedule, but the requested dates remain subject to educator availability.
Can I obtain care on the same day I enquire?
Immediate placement cannot be guaranteed. Enrolment and safety requirements must still be completed.
Can one educator hold several possible days for my child?
This depends on the educator’s vacancies, booking conditions and the agreed care arrangement.
Will my child always attend the same educator?
Continuity may be possible, but irregular requests can make the same educator difficult to guarantee.
Does making an enquiry confirm care?
No. Care is confirmed only after availability and the required arrangements have been completed.
Is your care schedule difficult to predict?
Tell us how your schedule changes, when you normally receive your roster and the dates or hours you currently require.
Occasional and Flexible Care
Care that responds to changing family circumstances
Where suitable educator capacity exists, occasional, short-term or changing care arrangements may be considered for families whose needs do not follow the same permanent weekly schedule.
What Flexible Care May Include
Flexible care is not one single arrangement. It describes requests that do not fit a permanent recurring weekly booking.
Occasional care
Selected care days requested as needed rather than reserved every week.
Changing rosters
Different care days requested according to a rotating employment schedule.
Short-term care
Care required for a defined period while a family manages a temporary circumstance.
Urgent enquiries
A request requiring a prompt response, without any guarantee that immediate care is available.
Illustrative family scenario
Amina and Zahra
A rotating hospital roster
Amina works a hospital roster that changes every fortnight. Her three-year-old daughter, Zahra, needs care on different weekdays each month.
Amina provides her roster as early as possible. Malaika Garden considers whether an educator has suitable capacity and whether the changing arrangement can be managed consistently and safely.
Flexible care may help in this situation, but the requested days cannot be guaranteed until availability is confirmed.
How a Flexible Request Is Considered
The service must understand the request before determining whether an educator may be able to support it.
Family enquiry
The family explains the required dates, hours, location and reason for the changing arrangement.
Availability review
The service considers whether a suitable educator has capacity.
Arrangement confirmed
Agreed days, notice expectations, fees and enrolment requirements are clarified.
Ongoing communication
The family provides future dates or roster information within the agreed timeframe.
Planning and Notice
Flexible care works best when families provide clear information and as much notice as their circumstances allow.
Information families should provide
- The child’s age
- The requested dates and hours
- The preferred care area
- How frequently the schedule may change
- When future dates are normally known
Arrangements to confirm
- How bookings are requested
- Required notice periods
- Whether a place can be reserved
- Applicable fees and cancellation conditions
- What happens when the educator has no vacancy
Important Limits
Flexible care does not mean that any requested day, hour or urgent placement will automatically be available.
Capacity
Educator vacancies may differ from one day to another.
Notice
Short notice may reduce the likelihood of finding an available placement.
Enrolment
Required information and authorisations must still be completed before care begins.
Continuity
Irregular attendance may make it harder to guarantee the same educator for every requested date.
Families should maintain alternative arrangements where care is not
yet confirmed.
Flexible Care Questions
Availability and booking conditions vary between educators.
Can I request different days every week?
You may submit a changing schedule, but the requested dates remain subject to educator availability.
Can I obtain care on the same day I enquire?
Immediate placement cannot be guaranteed. Enrolment and safety requirements must still be completed.
Can one educator hold several possible days for my child?
This depends on the educator’s vacancies, booking conditions and the agreed care arrangement.
Will my child always attend the same educator?
Continuity may be possible, but irregular requests can make the same educator difficult to guarantee.
Does making an enquiry confirm care?
No. Care is confirmed only after availability and the required arrangements have been completed.
Is your care schedule difficult to predict?
Tell us how your schedule changes, when you normally receive your roster and the dates or hours you currently require.