Entitlement for Child Care Subsidy (CCS) 007-17103113

While a customer may have been assessed as eligible for CCS, they will not be entitled to receive CCS as reduced fees unless they:

• meet reconciliation conditions, and
• have confirmed their child’s enrolment details provided by the child care service.

The child care service must lodge a session/attendance report before payments can be made.

The rate of CCS a customer is entitled to receive is determined by a number of factors:

• The combined family income
• If the family have more than one child aged 5 or under
• The level of activity of the customer (and partner, if they have one) and any exemptions in place
• The age of the child and the type of child care service they attend

CCS reduces the gap fee, also known as the out of pocket cost a family pays to their child care service. The CCS percentage applies to either the hourly fee or the relevant hourly rate cap, whichever is lower. Out of pocket costs will be different for each family depending on their child care fees and CCS entitlement.

Family income and CCS percentage

CCS is income tested, families need to provide an income estimate each financial year. A family's CCS % is based on their estimated Adjusted Taxable Income (ATI). After the end of the financial year, the family's CCS rate is balanced (reconciled) using their actual (ATI).

The Resources page has a table showing the different CCS percentages based on a family’s combined income. For more information, see Combined family income for Child Care Subsidy (CCS). The CCS percentage is applied to the maximum hourly rate cap.

Standard CCS rates

From 10 July 2023, there are changes to the standard CCS rates known as Cheaper Child Care. The changes increased the amount of child care subsidy for most families.

Families with income close to the CCS Higher Income Threshold (HIT) should be encouraged to lodge a claim for CCS to ensure they don’t miss out on entitlement when actual income is known at reconciliation.

See the Resources page for the income test for Standard CCS.

Families with more than one child aged 5 or under - Higher CCS

Families with more than one child aged 5 or under may get higher CCS (Multiple Child Subsidy) for one or more of their children.

This means customers will now be eligible for the higher subsidy if all of these apply:

• they are eligible for CCS
• their family’s combined income is equal to or below the Higher CCS Higher Income Threshold (HCCS HIT)
• the family has more than one CCS eligible child aged 5, or under

The ‘standard rate child’ is usually the eldest CCS eligible child aged 5 or under. This child will get the standard CCS rate.

The ‘higher rate child’ is any CCS eligible child in the family younger than the standard rate child. This child will get the Higher CCS rate (Multiple Child Subsidy)

Note:

• Sessions of In Home Care do not attract a higher subsidy for younger children. This is because In Home Care is subsidised on a family rather than per child basis. However, children aged 5 or under in In Home Care are included in the family unit when determining access to the higher Child Care Subsidy rate for other service types
• If a customer has multiple children with the same date of birth (e.g. multiple births such as twins or triplets), the system will determine the Standard Rate Child as the child with the lowest number CRN. A customer can ask to change which child is determined as the Standard Rate Child for multiple birth children. For more information see. Exceptional circumstances for Child Care Subsidy (CCS) and Additional Child Care Subsidy (ACCS)
• The system will use all children in the family, when calculating the standard rate child and any Higher rate child/ren. This includes all CCS eligible children aged 5 or under in the care of the customer and partner (if they have one)

Higher CCS (Multiple Child Subsidy)

CCS rates for higher rate children:

• For the period 7 March 2022 - 9 July 2023, Higher rate children CCS rates were 30% on top of a child’s standard CCS rate up to a maximum of 95%
• From 10 July 2023 onwards, CCS rates for standard and higher rate child/ren are calculated using two separate income tests. As a result, any income estimate updates will impact standard and higher rate child/ren differently. CCS for higher rate children is up to a maximum of 95%

See the Resources page for the income test for Higher Rate Child/ren.

CCS Activity test

The number of subsidised hours of child care a family can access in a fortnight will be determined by an activity test. The customer (and their partner) need to:

• be participating in recognised activity/ies for a specific amount of hours, or
• have an exemption

CCS customers with Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander children in their care are entitled to a base level of 36 hours per fortnight.

The Resources page has a table outlining the number of subsidised hours a customer may be entitled to access based on their (and their partner’s) level of activity.

For more information, see Activity Test for Child Care Subsidy (CCS).

The age of the child and the type of child care service they attend The type of child care service used will determine the maximum hourly rate cap to which a customer’s CCS percentage will be applied.

Types of child care include:

• centre based day care service
• family day care service
• outside school hours care service
• in home care

When a child attends centre-based day care or outside school hours care, the hourly rate cap used will depend on whether the child/ren attends school.

In some cases the child’s school level will mean a different hourly rate cap is used.

If the child is:

• school aged and in centre-based care the outside school hours care rate cap will be used
• below school age and in outside school hours care the centre-based day care rate cap will be used

A school aged child is a child who is:

• in school, including being home schooled, or
• 6 or older

Most customers will have a set rate of 5% of their CCS payments withheld until reconciliation. A customer can change their withholding rate.

CCS and ACCS is payable up to a cap of 42 absences per financial year. Additional absences are payable if appropriate evidence is provided to the child care service.

Throughout a CCS year, a customer’s entitlement to CCS applies for a two week period known as a CCS fortnight.

A CCS fortnight is a period of 2 weeks beginning on Monday 2 July 2018, and every second Monday after that. A CCS year is not the same as a financial year. This is because CCS is assessed in fortnightly periods which:

• start on a CCS Monday, and
• end on a Sunday

The exception being where the customer loses eligibility to payment within the fortnight and entitlement ceases from date of event. The CCS year ends on the Sunday of the fortnight containing 30 June.

See Changes in circumstances and date of effect for Child Care Subsidy (CCS) and Additional Child Care Subsidy (ACCS) for more information around CCS fortnights and date of effect rules.

See the Resources page for calendars to identify the start and end of a CCS fortnight throughout the year.