Updates to At Risk categories and DE eligibility calculations

What's changing

1. Updated At Risk field name and category options

The yes/no field previously labelled "Child or family known to child protection" is now "Child or Family at risk." This better reflects the broader range of At Risk categories recognised under the POA guidelines.

The Child At Risk category field uses an updated picklist aligned to current Department of Education terminology:

• Known to or had contact with Child Protection or in Out-of-Home Care
• Referred by Child Protection or an Out-of-Home Care provider
• Experiencing family violence or has had contact with The Orange Door
• Child or family previously accessed Flexible Support Packages
• Referred by Child and Family Services or a Maternal and Child Health nurse

2. Updated P1 Eligible and ESK calculations

P1 eligibility is no longer triggered simply by the At Risk toggle being set to Yes. Pre-Prep P1 eligibility is driven by specific category selections. 

P1 eligibility is triggered when a child is:

• Known to or had contact with Child Protection or in Out-of-Home Care
• Referred by Child Protection or an Out-of-Home Care provider

This brings EnrolNow's calculations into alignment with the DE's eligibility policy.

What you need to do

If your service was not previously capturing At Risk category information using the multi-select field, review any children who currently have the "Child or Family at risk" toggle selected and add the appropriate category. This matters because:

• If a child has "Child or Family at risk" selected and a category selected, eligibility is calculated based on that specific category.
• If a child has "Child or Family at risk" selected but no category, they are treated as eligible for all DE programs — Pre-Prep, ESK and POA. If that isn't your intention, update those records.

If you'd like the multi-select Child At Risk category field added to your registration form, let our support team know.

Related

• Understanding DE Eligibility calculations in EnrolNow
• Auto Calculated TY - Pre Prep Priority Cohort value
• Auto Calculated - TY - ESK / ESE Eligible
• Auto Calculated: TY / NY - Priority of Access

Previous Related Announcements

• Update to Department Eligibility Calculations
• Department of Education Updates: Parent Eligibility Attributes 2027