Reconciliation of Child Care Rebate (CCR) 007-03110020

A customer's actual annual CCR entitlement is automatically calculated when Child Care Benefit (CCB) reconciliation occurs or a CCB lump sum claim is finalised.

The system will automatically:

• calculate CCR entitlement for the whole financial year
• deduct any CCR payments already paid as direct or quarterly CCR payment
• offset any current and previous year CCR/CCB debts
• pay any remaining CCR entitlement due to the customer's nominated account or raise a debt, where applicable

Zero rate customers

For customers who elected to receive zero rate CCB (Client Request - CLR) only during the financial year, CCB reconciliation will occur without their actual income details being available, during bulk reconciliation, which commences from the fourth Monday in July. This allows the customer's actual annual CCR entitlement to be determined sooner. There should not be a link with the Australian Taxation Office (ATO) for these customers, however if actual income details are later received, CCB re-reconciliation will occur and the customer's actual annual CCR will be re-calculated.

If a customer is assessed as ineligible for Child Care Benefit (CCB) for any days, for any reason, they will not be entitled to CCR for those days. Reasons may include absences over the 42 day limit or immunisation requirements not being met. A public holiday is regarded as an absence if child care fees are required to be paid for the day.

Where the customer has requested CCR be paid as a direct to customer or direct to service payment and they are receiving Child Care Benefit (CCB) at a legislative rate greater than zero, 15% of the customer's CCR entitlement will be kept from each instalment. The withheld amount will be included in calculating the customer's CCR entitlement at reconciliation prior to any deductions or offsetting of debts.

A customer can claim their Child Care Benefit (CCB) as a lump sum payment after the end of the financial year and CCR will also be paid as a lump sum. The claim will be finalised when child care attendance is received. Note: if a customer had registered an intent to claim CCB as a lump sum (CNN/DCL) or has received a lump sum payment in any previous financial years, the child care attendance should be submitted during the year. If a customer receives more than a zero rate of CCB, a re-calculation of their CCB may occur when tax returns have been lodged (for the relevant year) with the ATO. This will mean their Child Care Rebate (CCR) will also be re-calculated based on their changed entitlement to CCB.

There is a known issue where in some circumstances the CCR account payable letter will have the wrong amounts displayed in some fields. When this occurs customers may view their current and previous reconciliation calculations using their online service. Service Officers can also advise the customer of the correct amounts.