Additional Child Care Subsidy (ACCS) (temporary financial hardship) 007-17103157

Additional Child Care Subsidy (ACCS) (temporary financial hardship) provides short-term support to families experiencing significant financial stress due to circumstances beyond their control. This additional financial assistance will help ensure continuity of care for the child and support families when they need it most.

This subsidy provides eligible customers with:

• up to 100 hours per fortnight of subsidised child care, and
• a subsidy equal to 100% of the fee charged, up to 120% of the hourly rate cap
• ACCS (temporary financial hardship) is third in the hierarchy of ACCS payments

A customer may be eligible for ACCS (temporary financial hardship) if they are first assessed as eligible for Child Care Subsidy (CCS) and:

• are assessed as experiencing temporary financial hardship for an event that occurred no more than six months before the application is made, and
• have had a substantial reduction in their ability to pay child care fees as a direct result of the temporary financial hardship

Note: a family’s income does not preclude them from being eligible for ACCS (temporary financial hardship). This means a customer may be eligible for CCS and have an entitlement of 0 per cent, but may be eligible for ACCS (temporary financial hardship) if they satisfy the eligibility criteria.

Customers can apply for ACCS (temporary financial hardship):

• at the time of completing an online or staff assisted claim for CCS
• if already receiving CCS, as a standalone application using their online account
• in limited circumstances, completing an offline (paper) FA086 Application for Additional Child Care Subsidy (temporary financial hardship). See the Resources page for a link to the FA086. Note: pending publication of this form, Service Officers are to assist customers complete an online application

ACCS (temporary financial hardship) may also apply on the Secretary’s own initiative, such as in the case of a natural disaster.