Customer queries Child Care Management System (CCMS) information 007-03080020

From 2 July 2018:
- Child Care Subsidy (CCS) replaces Child Care Benefit (CCB) and Child Care Rebate (CCR)
- Additional Child Care Subsidy (ACCS) replaces Special Child Care Benefit (SCCB) Child at Risk and Temporary Financial Hardship, Jobs, Education and Training Child Care Fee Assistance (JETCCFA) and Grandparent Child Care Benefit (GCCB)
For more information, see Child Care Subsidy (CCS) and Additional Child Care Subsidy (ACCS).

Claims for CCB and CCR lump sum for approved care and CCB Registered Care, for care received prior to 2 July 2018, can be lodged up until 30 June 2019.

This document outlines the arrangements and responsibilities for the resolution of customer enquiries about child care information provided by Approved Service Providers (ASP) under the Child Care Management System (CCMS) for legacy child care payments CCB and CCR; it does not apply to Child Care Subsidy (CCS) attendance.

The CCMS

The CCMS is a national child care computer system used to simplify the administration of payments to ASPs. Child care information is lodged fortnightly/weekly by ASPs via specialised software via the internet. It is then transferred between Services Australia and the Department of Education and used to calculate child care payment entitlements for customers to ASPs, depending on customer choice.

Viewing attendance information

Customers who are registered for Online Services can view the attendance information that is transferred using CCMS using the View Child Care Details option. Staff can access this via the staff portal, or on the customer's record.

Customer responsibility

In general, the customer is responsible for confirming details with the child care service. Customers who disagree with the information provided by their ASP via CCMS are required to contact their ASP to discuss in the first instance.

Families and Parenting Service Officers do not have authorisation to contact ASPs directly.

If the customer is unsuccessful in rectifying the issue with their provider, a referral must be made to the CCMS Support Team.

CCMS Support Team

The CCMS Support Team is a Services Australia and Department of Education initiative that deals with customer CCMS enquiries. The CCMS Support Team will deal with issues regarding incorrect or missing CCMS data after the customer has attempted to resolve the issue with the ASP.

The CCMS Support Team does not assist with:

general CCB reconciliation enquiries
calculating a customer's CCB percentage or entitlement
issues relating to granting or eligibility for CCB
CCS/ACCS attendance or CCS/ACCS related enquiries

Incorrect referrals to the CCMS Support Team will be returned to the initiating Service Officer to follow-up.

Enquiries from ASPs

CCMS enquiries from ASPs are to be directed to the Department of Education CCMS Helpdesk, who will then contact Services Australia if necessary.

The Resources page contains a table outlining Services Australia and the Department of Education responsibilities regarding CCMS enquiry resolutions.