Child Care Subsidy (CCS) withholdings 007-17103126

Does the customer only have child care related debt(s), and is only receiving CCS payments?

• Yes, go to Step 2
• No, go to Step 3

Tell the customer:

• the standard recovery rate will automatically commence from their CCS entitlement. Standard CCS recovery is 20% of the weekly rate, and
• a lower amount of subsidy will be paid directly to their child care provider, and the customer will incur higher out-of-pocket fees for child care

If the customer:

• requests a change to the standard 20% CCS recovery rate, see Recovering Child Care Subsidy (CCS) debts in Process Direct, and/or
• has a voluntary repayment arrangement, go to Step 4

Otherwise, procedure ends here.

If the customer is:

• not current on any payment tell them they will need to enter into a voluntary repayment arrangement. See Arranging cash repayments to recover debts
• current on another Income Support or Families payment, tell them automatic deductions will be withheld from their other payment

Procedure ends here.

Tell the customer:

• their voluntary arrangement amount will be in addition to the standard 20% recovery rate
• the 20% recovery rate and the voluntary arrangement amount will be automatically withheld from their CCS entitlement, and
• they can cancel their voluntary arrangement if they chose to, while repayment is being recovered from their CCS entitlement

Does the customer want to cease the voluntary repayment arrangement?

• Yes, tell the customer they can cancel their voluntary arrangement via the:
• Money you owe service accessible from their Centrelink online account, or
• the Express Plus Centrelink mobile app
• No, DOC outcome of discussion. Procedure ends here

Ensure that the customer understands the impact of increasing their withholding amount.

Read the following information to the customer:

'By increasing your CCS withholding percentage you understand that a lower amount of subsidy will paid directly to your child care provider and you will incur higher out-of-pocket fees. You understand that amounts withheld will be used to reduce any overpayment you may receive during the financial year. You also understand that you cannot access any of the withheld amount until your payments are balanced at the end of the financial year and any amount remaining will be paid directly to you.'

If the customer understands the impact and would like to proceed:

• Go to the Withholdings (NWH) screen. End date any existing entry one day before the new withholding entry
• Select Add
• Enter Start Date (cannot be a past date)
• Enter End date - this is a mandatory field. Record an end date where the customer nominates one, or 31/12/9999
• Enter the customer nominated withholding amount
• Enter a reason for the update from the drop down menu:
• Declaration of unsteady employment income, high variable income
• Substantial increase in estimated annual income
• Threshold at which the annual cap applies or the upper income threshold
• Accumulated withholdings was reduced or exhausted to offset an overpayment
• Declaration of steady employment arrangement, work hours and income
• Substantial decrease in estimated annual income
• Other
• Select Assess
• Select Finalise
• Record notes on the customer record including the (start and end dates, requested withholding amount. Copy and paste the above declaration which the customer agreed to into the notes, including a reason for the change)

Read the following information to the customer

'Withholding some of your Child Care Subsidy is important as it helps reduce the likelihood of you incurring a debt at the end of the financial year when we balance your payment. If you reduce the amount that we are withholding you understand you increase the likelihood of receiving an overpayment at the end of the year. Do you understand that any Child Care Subsidy you have been overpaid will be raised as a debt when your payments are balanced after the end of the financial year.'

If the customer understands the impact and would like to proceed:

• Go to the Withholdings (NWH) screen. End date any existing entry one day before the new withholding entry
• Select Add
• Enter Start Date (cannot be a past date)
• Enter End date - this is a mandatory field. Record an end date where the customer nominates one, or 31/12/9999
• Enter the customer nominated withholding amount
• Enter a reason for the update from the drop down menu:
• Declaration of unsteady employment income, high variable income
• Substantial increase in estimated annual income
• Threshold at which the annual cap applies or the upper income threshold
• Accumulated withholdings was reduced or exhausted to offset an overpayment
• Declaration of steady employment arrangement, work hours and income
• Substantial decrease in estimated annual income
• Other
• Select Assess
• Select Finalise
• Record notes on the customer record including the (start and end dates, requested withholding amount. Copy and paste the above declaration which the customer agreed to into the notes, including a reason for the change)