Additional Child Care Subsidy (ACCS) (transition to work) eligibility and applications 007-17103149

ACCS (transition to work) provides additional support to families transitioning to work from income support by engaging in work, study or training activities.

To be eligible for ACCS (transition to work) customers need to meet the following criteria:

• Be eligible for Child Care Subsidy (CCS)
• Receiving an ACCS (transition to work) eligible payment, including where the payment is suspended or an employment income nil rate period applies
• Have a combined family income of equal to or less than the CCS lower income threshold
• Meet the ACCS (Transition to work) Job Plan/Participation Plan requirements (where applicable)
• Participating in an ACCS (transition to work) approved activity, which must also be recorded as a CCS activity, for a minimum of 8 hours per fortnight
• The time limit is not exceeded for the approved activity. The time limit means the period ACCS (transition to work) can be paid for an activity

ACCS (transition to work) subsidy is 95% of the fee charged, up to 95% of the hourly rate cap depending on the type of care the child is attending.

The number of subsidised hours of child care a customer can access if eligible for ACCS (transition to work) is based on their Activity Test result. Where the customer is partnered, the number of subsidised hours will be based on the person with the lowest Activity Test result.

In exceptional circumstances, customers may apply for more than the activity tested hours result.

Refer to Activity test for Child Care Subsidy (CCS) for more information.

Customers can apply for ACCS (transition to work):

• at the time of completing an online or staff assisted claim for Child Care Subsidy (CCS). The ACCS (transition to work) application is imbedded within the CCS claim. This means the ACCS (transition to work) question set will present if responses in the CCS claim indicate they may be eligible for ACCS (such as being in receipt of an income support payment and report an activity which is an ACCS (transition to work) approved activity)
• if already receiving CCS, as a standalone application using their online account. Customers receiving an eligible income support payment who have an approved activity recorded for CCS, will have the 'Transition to Work' option available in the Child Care Subsidy submenu
• in limited circumstances, an offline (paper) FA085 Application for Additional Child Care Subsidy (transition to work) form can be issued. See Resources for a link to the FA085

Customers can apply for ACCS (transition to work) prior to commencing an ACCS (transition to work) approved activity, however the start date for an activity can be no more than 28 days in the future.

Service Officers will:

• Assist customers to meet their Job Plan or Disability Support Pension (DSP) Participation Plan requirements prior to lodging an application for ACCS (transition to work) (where required)
• Direct new CCS customers to lodge a combined CCS/ACCS (transition to work) claim online
• Complete a staff assisted claim for CCS/ACCS (transition to work) if appropriate
• Direct current CCS customers to lodge an ACCS (transition to work) application using their online account
• Issue a FA085 Application for Additional Child Care Subsidy (transition to work) after confirming the customer meets all of the following:
• Receiving an eligible income support payment
• Undertaking in an approved activity
• Has an income equal to or below the lower income threshold, and
• Is unable to lodge a claim online or through the staff-assisted channel

The ACCS Processing Team will assess all ACCS (transition to work) applications (including combined CCS/ACCS claims) using information provided in the claim, and will advise the customer in writing of the outcome.

Where a customer is eligible for multiple ACCS payments for the same session of care, a hierarchy applies so payments can only be made under one ACCS type. The hierarchy is:

1. ACCS (child wellbeing)
2. ACCS (grandparent)
3. ACCS (temporary financial hardship)
4. ACCS (transition to work)
5. CCS

If a customer is eligible for any other ACCS type, they will not be eligible for ACCS (transition to work). If a higher type of ACCS ends, the customer will need to re-apply for ACCS (transition to work) (if still eligible). In these situations, there is no trigger to advise customers to apply for ACCS (transition to work) - it is the responsibility of the customer to re-apply if they wish to access additional child care assistance.

For claims lodged on or after 1 July 2022, customers:

• can be eligible for ACCS (transition to work) without having to enter into a Job Plan/Participation Plan where it is not a requirement of their income support payment
• with mutual obligation or participation requirements as part of their income support payment must have an active Job Plan or Participation Plan (where applicable)
• receiving Disability Support Pension (DSP) with participation requirements must negotiate a DSP Participation Plan to meet requirements for ACCS (transition to work). If a DSP customer does not have participation requirements, they do not need to enter into a Participation Plan for ACCS (transition to work)

Note: on 11 August 2023, Department of Education made changes to the Minister’s Rules to remove the Job Plan/Participation Plan requirement for customers that do not have mutual obligation or participation requirements. These changes were retrospectively backdated to 1 July 2022. See Process page to request reassessment of previously non effective claims/applications where voluntary Job Plan requirements were not met.

For claims lodged before 1 July 2022, customers:

• must have had an active Job Plan or Participation Plan (where applicable) to be eligible for ACCS (transition to work)
• without mutual obligation requirements as part of their income support payment were required to enter into a Voluntary Job Plan
• in receipt of Disability Support Pension (DSP) were required to negotiate a DSP Participation Plan to meet requirements for ACCS (transition to work). If a DSP customer did not have participation requirements, they were required to enter into a Voluntary Participation Plan

If a customer already has an active Job Plan/Participation Plan in place, there is no requirement to update it to include their ACCS (transition to work) activity (unless required for the customer's income support payment).

If a customer is exempt from mutual obligation or participation requirements for their income support payment, they may still qualify for ACCS (transition to work) if they continue to participate in their approved activity.

Customers have 28 days from the date they apply for ACCS (transition to work) to enter into a Job Plan/Participation Plan.

Payment for ACCS (transition to work) can only be made once all eligibility criteria are met including having an active Job Plan/Participation Plan where required. If eligible, the ACCS (transition to work) date of effect once a Job Plan/Participation Plan has been entered into will be the next CCS Monday following the Job Plan/Participation Plan negotiation.

If a customer fails to enter into a Job Plan/Participation Plan within 28 days of applying for ACCS (transition to work) (if required), their application will be made not effective and considered to have not been made. If a customer enters into a Job Plan/Participation Plan more than 28 days after date of lodgement of their application, even if the application has not been processed, the application will be Not Effective.

The customer will need to lodge a new application. There are no backdating provisions for ACCS (transition to work).

If an individual's income support payment is suspended, they may continue to receive ACCS (transition to work) if they meet all other eligibility criteria and are still undertaking their approved activity.

If a customer's income support payment is cancelled, their ACCS (transition to work) will also cancel. If the customer's income support payment was incorrectly cancelled and subsequently reinstated, customers can apply for a formal review of the decision to cancel ACCS (transition to work). However, if the customer's income support payment was cancelled correctly, the customer will need to make a new application for ACCS (transition to work).

If the customer enters an employment income nil rate period, they may continue to receive ACCS (transition to work). Customers should be advised to continue to report their earnings during this period or their income support payment and their ACCS (transition to work) payment will be cancelled.

If customers' circumstances change, and they are eligible for a different ACCS payment, the period they are receiving the other subsidy will not be included in the calculation of ACCS (transition to work) time limits.

If a customer needs to change their start date, it may be amended to a Monday in a future CCS fortnight. This is only allowed for a change of circumstances and only if no sessions of care have occurred and no payments have been made.

Where a customer has been granted ACCS (transition to work) but has had no entitlement for 12 consecutive fortnights since the start date, and subsequently do not use child care, their ACCS will cancel and they will need to lodge a new application.

When a customer's activity includes breaks, such as term breaks (for study or training) or paid and unpaid leave (for paid work), the customer is still considered to be participating in their activity.

Time limits for study apply for a period of continuous weeks, and include breaks during the entire course period. For example, an individual undertaking a two-year course will be taken to be participating in the activity from the start of the course through to the final date of the course, including any mid-year breaks and the first end of year break. ACCS (transition to work) is not to be cancelled and recommenced during term breaks.

ACCS (transition to work) can be paid for certain absences from child care.

Payments made under ACCS (transition to work) are exempt from the CCS annual cap.

The Annual Cap was removed from the 2021/22 financial year onwards. Families may still be subject to the Annual Cap prior to 1 July 2021.

Payments made under ACCS (transition to work) are exempt from the end of year reconciliation process. If a customer's actual income is above the lower income threshold at reconciliation, ACCS (transition to work) eligibility will not be re-assessed retrospectively.

If the estimate for the subsequent year is below the actual income from the previous year, Service Officers can request additional information to support the lower income estimate. This is to ensure the customer is not providing a reduced and unreasonable estimate to access ACCS (transition to work).

If, following the reconciliation process, the agency has reason to suspect the estimate was not a reasonable estimate, or the individual should have notified of a change of circumstance during the year, a compliance review may be undertaken.