The popular government summer day camp programme has introduced a lottery-style registration system to simplify the process and make it fairer for families.

Owen Darrell, the Minister of Tourism, Transport, Culture and Sport, provided details about the new process this morning but said the camps were still expected to be oversubscribed.

Mr Darrell explained that whereas the old system gave parents a small window of a few minutes on a specific date to register online, in many cases for multiple children, the new system would introduce a two-week registration process.

He said that problems with the online registration process experienced last year had been ironed out with help from the Government’s digital transformation team.

Mr Darrell said his ministry had received feedback from parents.

“Many parents felt intense pressure to log on the moment registration opened, only to find camps filled within minutes,” he added.

“In some cases, one child [within a family] secured a spot while another did not, leaving families in difficult and uncertain situations.

“We listened carefully to this feedback and we are acting on it.

“This year, we are introducing a modernised summer camp lottery registration system. This new approach is designed to improve fairness, transparency and efficiency, ensuring a more equitable experience for all families.

“The registration period will be a two-week window. During this time, families will be encouraged to create a family profile account. This includes entering all required information for each child, followed by selecting their camp preferences.

“Parents will select both a first and second-choice programme. Importantly, there is no advantage to applying early as every application submitted within the window will be treated equally.”

Additionally, Mr Darrell explained that if a family registered multiple children, all children registered in a household would be accepted.

He added: “After the registration period closes, placements will be assigned through a transparent lottery system.

“This system will take into account factors such as sibling placement and programme preferences. If a household is selected, all registered children in that household will be placed. Families will then be notified of their assigned camps and the next steps to confirm their registration.”

Parents will be able to log on to their accounts at any time to check the status of their applications and receive updates, including information about placements and payments. Once a family has a profile, it can be used in subsequent years during registration.

Mr Darrell said that despite the number of government camps roughly doubling compared with the year before last, when offers were extended to 4,000 children, not every applicant would be able to secure a spot.

He was unable to provide the number of students who did not secure a spot last year.

“A wait list will still be necessary,” he said. “However, what this system guarantees is that every family has an equal opportunity. Registration will no longer depend on who can click the fastest.

“Access to our summer day camps should be fair for everyone and this new system reflects that commitment.”

Asked about problems encountered during the online sign-up last year, Mr Darrell said: “We are using some additional resources when it comes to technology including internal resources with the digital transformation team that has been doing good work.”

Mr Darrell said after the two-week registration process, he expected it would take an extra week or two for families to receive confirmation of a spot.

He said families who had been successful in their applications could cancel if they no longer required the spot and would be eligible for a refund.

Mr Darrell added: “We would hope that parents that find other alternatives will contact the Department of Sport and Recreation straight away.

“There is always a reimbursement process but we want people, when they make alternative plans, to contact us so they can get their money back but more importantly, so we can release the spot to other students.”

Mr Darrell was not able to share how many different camps will be on offer this year because providers were still being selected.

The camp price, subsidised by the Government, remains at $60 per week, which includes child care from about 8am to 5.30pm.

Registration opens on April 27 online at the Department of Sport and Recreation website.