The Child Care Subsidy (CCS):

What You Need to Know

The Child Care Subsidy (CCS) is a government subsidy that offers different levels of financial assistance to help cover the cost of childcare for Australian families. How much you receive depends on your individual circumstances. There is more information below about the CCS, how much you should receive and how to apply.

How much CCS should I receive?

To work out how much CCS you’re eligible for we’ll look at all the following:

your family’s income
the hourly rate cap based on the type of approved child care you use and your child’s age
the hours of activity you and your partner do
the number of children in your care.

The amount of subsidised child care you can access per fortnight applies to each child.

If you have a CCS overpayment, we may use some of your CCS each fortnight to pay this back.

Your Combined Family Income

Your family’s combined income will help determine the CCS percentage you’re entitled to. Remember, you will need to contact Centrelink when your combined income increases or decreases – this can be done at any time through your Centrelink online account through myGov or the Express Plus Centrelink mobile app.

Your family income	Child Care Subsidy percentage
$0 to $85,279	90%
More than $85,279 to below $535,279	Between 90% and 0% The percentage goes down by 1% for every $5,000 of income your family earns above $85,279
$535,279 or more	0%

If you have more than one child aged 5 or younger, you may get a higher rate for one or more of your children.

You can claim CCS even if your family income estimate is $535,279 or more. If you have claimed CCS and you earn less than this, we’ll pay you the subsidy you’re entitled to. We’ll do this when we balance your payments at the end of the financial year.

Your Level of Activity

CCS is linked to how much a family contributes to the Australian economy through activity – both paid and unpaid. This activity level is calculated from the parent with the lowest number of hours of activity per fortnight.

Activity level each fortnight	Hours of subsidised care each fortnight
Less than 8 hours	0 hours if you earn above $85,279, 24 hours if you earn $85,279 or below
More than 8 to 16 hours	36 hours
More than 16 to 48 hours	72 hours
More than 48 hours	100 hours

What counts as an activity?

paid work including being self employed
paid or unpaid leave, including paid or unpaid parental or maternity leave
unpaid work in a family business
unpaid work experience or unpaid internship
actively setting up a business.

They can also include any of these:

doing an approved course of education or study
doing training to improve work skills or employment prospects
actively looking for work
volunteering
other activities on a case by case basis.

We’ll only recognise some of these activities for a certain amount of time. We’ll only count:

periods of unpaid leave for up to 6 months, this doesn’t apply to unpaid parental leave
setting up a business for 6 months out of every 12 months
16 hours per fortnight if your only activity is volunteering or actively looking for work.

If you’re setting up a business and then start working in the business, you need to update your activity details. You need to update your activity from setting up a business to paid work.

Your childcare provider hourly rate

The third factor taken into consideration when calculating your CCS is the hourly rate charged by your childcare provider. CCS is calculated according to whichever is the lowest:

The centre’s actual hourly fee (which is the daily fee’ divided by hours of operation), or
The Hourly Rate Cap of $14.63 per hour.

Your number of children in care

If your family has more than one child aged 5 or younger in care, you may get a higher Child Care Subsidy (CCS) for one or more of your children.

Your family income	Child Care Subsidy percentage
$0 to $143,273	95%
More than $143,273 to below $188,273	Between 95% and 80% The percentage goes down by 1% for every $3,000 of income your family earns
$188,273 to below $267,563	80%
$267,563 to below $357,563	Between 80% and 50% The percentage goes down by 1% for every $3,000 of income your family earns
$357,563, to below $367,563	50%
$367,563 or more	Higher CCS rates no longer apply, all children in the family will get the standard CCS rate

How can I get the most out of the CCS?

To discuss your individual circumstances and how they relate to your CCS entitlements, please contact us here. They will be able to assist you with any questions or concerns you may have.

Things to consider:

Have your circumstances changed? For example, if your income level or contact information has changed, you should update your details with Centrelink as soon as possible. This can be done through your Centrelink online account through myGov or the Express Plus Centrelink mobile app.
New to childcare? You should put in a claim for CCS as soon as possible. Claims for CCS can only be backdated for up to 28 days from the day the claim is lodged, so the sooner you act, the better it will be for your back pocket.

Frequently Asked Questions about the Child Care Subsidy

What determines my level of Child Care Subsidy?

The subsidy you’re entitled to will depend on your individual circumstances. Your CCS is calculated using three components:

Your combined family income
Your level of ‘activity’
Your childcare provider’s hourly rate

You can use the Payment and Service Finder from Services Australia Website to estimate how much Child Care Subsidy (CCS) you may get.

How much does Centrelink pay per child?

Again, this depends on your circumstances, including your family income, your level of activity and your chosen childcare provider’s hourly rate. To discuss your individual circumstances and how they relate to your CCS entitlements, please contact us here. We will be able to assist you with any questions or concerns you may have.

Why does the Government provide subsidies for Childcare?

The Government provides financial assistance to families to help cover the cost of childcare. This eases out of pocket costs depending on how much a family earns and allows parents to return to work and for children to be exposed to high-quality early childhood care and education, which has many proven benefits for child development.

The Child Care Subsidy provides higher levels of financial support to the families who earn the least, to make the process of returning to work less financially difficult. More importantly, this initiative gives your child an opportunity to take advantage of the benefits of an early childhood education. Family life is busy – in between juggling work and family life, there’s not a lot of time left to catch up on legislative changes, so we’ve outlined them for you.

The system is income and ‘activity-based’, giving families access to either 36, 72 or 100 hours of subsidised care per fortnight, based on the hours of combined work, training or study undertaken.

How do I claim the CCS?

The easiest way to decide how to make a claim is by visiting the Services Australia website.

Am I eligible for the CCS?

To get Child Care Subsidy (CCS) you must:

care for a child 13 or younger who’s not attending secondary school, unless an exemption applies
use an approved childcare service
be responsible for paying the childcare fees
meet residency and immunisation requirements.

How much am I entitled to claim through the CCS?

This will depend on your individual circumstances. You can estimate your estimated Child Care Subsidy (CCS) you may get here.