Eligibility for Child Care Subsidy (CCS) 007-17103108

About the customer

A customer will be eligible for the subsidy if they or their partner meet all of the following requirements:

• meet the residence requirements
• have a Family Tax Benefit (FTB) child or a regular care child (a child is not eligible if they receive a disqualifying payment)
• the CCS has not been claimed by another person for the same session of care, and
• be liable to pay child care fees for the child

About the child

The child must meet all of the following requirements:

• 13 years of age or under
• not in secondary school or has an exemption
• attends an approved child care service, and
• meets immunisation requirements or has an exemption

About the session of care

A customer is not eligible for a session of care if:

• it is part of a compulsory education program
• it is outside Australia, or
• one of the following reasons applies:
• care is provided aboard a transport vehicle, including on a bus for example (unless the transport is incidental to the session of care)
• care is provided in domestic living arrangement such as the child’s own home or where the parent remains present
• the individual providing the session of care is required to hold a working with children card, but does not at the time the session of care is provided
• the child attends school (including home school or distance education program) during any part of the session

CCS and ACCS are not payable for children attending a Family Day Care (FDC) service on the same day their parent /guardian is working as a FDC child care provider (also known as a FDC educator). There are exceptions in some circumstances. The Resources page has an example of how these rules apply.

If it is suspected that a customer’s subsidy entitlements may be affected by these rules, CCS is not to be cancelled. It could be the service (in particular the FDC service or educator) who is acting fraudulently and not the customer.

If the Service Officer suspects fraudulent activity, see Report Suspected Fraud and Corruption.

Eligibility is assessed at the time the session of care is provided.

An individual's liability to pay for child care fees is established when the child is enrolled at child care and the provider and an individual enter into a Complying Written Agreement (CWA). Details of the arrangements in the enrolment notice, including who is liable to pay the fees is submitted to the agency, which must then be confirmed by the customer. Customers should be advised the name of the parent making the CCS claim must match the name of the parent that enters into the CWA. This is to ensure customers receive the correct CCS entitlement.

Foster carers who are deemed liable to pay for the child care fees by the child care service, can claim CCS (that is, the foster carer pays the child care fees and the receipts are in the name of the foster carer). The relevant state authority may pay the remaining gap in the fees. Any re-imbursement of fees from the relevant state authority does not change the foster carer's liability in these cases.

Where the relevant state authority pays all the child care fees for the child care provided, as there is no liability for the child care fees by the foster carer, and therefore the foster carer is not eligible for CCS.

To be granted a school status and/or age exemption it must be unreasonable for the child to be left alone, and a person aged 18 or above is not able to provide the necessary care.

School status exemptions:

• Children 13 years and under attending secondary school, and
• Children 13 years and under with a disability attending secondary school

Age and school status exemption:

• Children 14 to 18 years with a disability attending secondary school

School status exemption

The customer must provide a Commonwealth statutory declaration stating:

• why it is unreasonable for the child to be left unsupervised, and
• confirming a suitable adult is not available to provide the necessary care

The Resources page has a link to the form.

Age and school status exemption

An individual may be eligible for CCS if their child:

• is a National Disability Insurance Scheme (NDIS) participant
• has a permanent condition but is not an NDIS participant, or
• has a non-permanent condition or is undergoing an assessment for a specified condition but is not an NDIS participant

See also Updating school status, and assessing age exemptions for Child Care Subsidy (CCS).

Before a customer can be assessed for ACCS, they must first be eligible for CCS.

To be eligible to Higher CCS (Multiple Child Subsidy (MCS)) a customer must:

• be CCS eligible
• have 2 or more children aged 5 or under, and
• have entitlement to CCS of more than 0%

For more information about MCS entitlement, see Entitlement for Child Care Subsidy.

An eligible grandparent with 65% or more care of a grandchild may be eligible for ACCS (Grandparent) and/or a waiver of the Activity Test for Child Care Subsidy.

See also Additional Child Care Subsidy (ACCS) (grandparent) or Help for grandparents caring for children.

Customers will only be eligible for CCS if they are liable for child care fees and they have entered into a CWA with their child care service. Where salary sacrificing results in an employer being liable for child care fees, an Organisation Arrangement will be made with the employer and the customer is not eligible for CCS.

The customer will need to clarify this with their employer if they are unsure. Services Australia is not responsible for determining who has legal liability for the child care fees.

This situation occurs where a child care arrangement is made between a third party (such as an employer or third party agency) and a child care service, AND the third party is liable for all or part of the fees.

The child care service must work out who is liable for the fees based on who signs the CWA and who signs any relevant third party agreement. This is a business decision for the child care service in accordance with their business practices. If a third party is liable to pay 100% of the child care fees, the individual is not eligible for CCS.

Customers may contact about child care programs implemented by a state or territory government. These programs provide extra fee relief assistance, or 'free' child care, for a certain number of hours per week. Examples include:

• Free Kindy in Queensland
• Start Strong in New South Wales

Child Care Subsidy (CCS) is a payment delivered by the Australian Government. Staff must not answer questions about child care programs or initiatives at other levels. For example:

• local
• state
• territory

Refer customers to their local child care provider to seek more details.