Explaining the Child Care Subsidy (CCS) rate and entitlement 007-20090908

In Process Direct:

• select the Child Care icon or go to the Child Care Subsidy (CCS/CCP) screen to show Entitlement
• toggle between Previous Period and Next Period to identify where a change in CCS rate may have taken effect. This may point to the date on which an income estimate has been updated. Changes to eligible hours are also visible when toggling between Previous Period and Next Period
• for the Subsidy percentage selecting 'I' information next to the percentage will indicate the reason for the current percentage
• grant/cessation dates of:
  • Additional Child Care Subsidy (ACCS) (temporary financial hardship), (transition to work) and (grandparent) will be visible in the Entitlement table
  • ACCS (child wellbeing) will be visible under the ACCS Child Wellbeing twisty on the Child Care Subsidy (CCS/CCP) screen
• if child has a Status of Not Eligible, see Cancellation, rejection and not effective codes for Child Care Subsidy (CCS) and Additional Child Care Subsidy (ACCS) for further details on the description of the code

There can be multiple reasons for customer's CCS rates and out of pocket expenses to change.

After checking the customers entitlement, has the change resulted in:

Check:

• TFN requirements
• Portability
• First Deadline applied

Check:

• 2nd Deadline applied
• Child age/school status
• Immunisation
• 26 week rule
• Precluding payment

Check:

• Income estimate
• Multiple Child Subsidy (MCS)
• Additional Child Care Subsidy (ACCS)
• Exceptional Circumstances Coding

Check:

• Recognised participation details
• Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander children
• Additional Child Care Subsidy (ACCS)
• Exceptional Circumstances Coding
• Income estimate
• Apportionment
• Activity Test Details - Before 5 January 2026
• Income estimate - Before 5 January 2026

Check:

• Debt recovery withholding (20%)
• Nominal withholding (5% or another percentage for potential debts)
• Absences
• Multiple child Customer Reference Numbers (CRN)
• Hourly rate caps
• Commencement or change to debt withholding

Check:

• Return payment
• Change of Care
• Enrolment

Seek technical support before escalating via ROXY.

When debt withholdings are in place, the customer’s out of pocket expense with their childcare provider will increase. Debt withholdings are automatically applied at 20% of the family’s CCS entitlement, but families can elect to change this percentage. For families with multiple children receiving CCS in the same week, debt withholdings may be applied differently to each child.

Process Direct

• Go to the Debts Activity List (DEBTS) screen or select the Debts icon
• Select the Launch Debt Management application
• Select the Arrangements tab to view the arrangement type for the customer
• If withholdings are or have been in place:
  • Arrangement Type will show as 'Withholding'
  • Start and Ceased dates will show the period of the arrangement
  • Percentage will show the standard 20% or another amount if negotiated by the customer with debt recovery
  • Benefit Type will show as 'CCS'

Customer First

• Go to the Debt List (OPDL) screen to view a CCS or legacy child care debts
• Go to the Payment Arrangement List (OPAL) screen to view debt repayment arrangements. Each row represents a payment arrangement and will show:
  • The Type of debt recovery arrangement. Common types for CCS will include the standard 20% withholdings (WHS) or a voluntary direct debit arrangement (VOL). Note: if a customer has both a current WHS and VOL type, this means the standard 20% withholdings and the voluntary amount are being deducted
  • The status of the debt recovery arrangement
  • Relevant dates
  • The next deduction date
  • Amounts withheld

If debt recovery withholdings are in place, advise the customer their out of pocket expenses will increase. Debt withholding amounts may be applied differently each week if the customer has more than one CCS child. The amounts taken from each child will depend on the order of session reports lodged by the provider.

For more information on CCS amounts being withheld to recover debts, see Table 9 in Recovering Child Care Subsidy (CCS) debts in Process Direct.

Return to Identify possible causes.

In Process Direct:

• go to the Annual Income (FTI) screen to show the history of income estimate updates
• the Start Date column indicates the date on which the estimate was provided, but all income estimate updates, if favourable or unfavourable, take effect from the start of the next CCS fortnight
• Note: the FTI table only shows details for that individual. If the customer is partnered, use to select the partner and go to FTI in their record

Income thresholds and cut offs are available in Combined Family income for Child Care Subsidy (CCS).

Before 5 January 2026, changes to a families combined income to above or below the lower income threshold can impact the number of subsidised hours of child care. See Activity Test for Child Care Subsidy (CCS) > Table 2 > Item 2.

From 5 January 2026, there is no longer a lower income threshold affect on CCS hours.

Return to Identify possible causes.

Families with more than one CCS eligible child aged 5 or under may get a higher subsidy for:

• their second child, and
• any younger children

In Process Direct, go to the Child Care Subsidy (CCS/CCP) screen and open the Entitlement twisty.

In the Multiple Child Subsidy column on the right end of the table:

• Standard Rate Child will show for the eldest child aged 5 or under
• Higher Rate Child will show for younger children who are eligible for the higher rate
• N/A will show if MCS is not applicable to the relevant child. Reasons for N/A showing are:
  • child/ren are 6 years of age or older
  • customer only has 1 MCS eligible child, who is a Standard Rate Child
  • income is above the Higher CCS High Income Threshold (HCCS HIT) from 10 July 2023
• MCS column is blank will show if:
  • the period is before 7 March 2022 (MCS implementation date). Note: all children will always show as blank before this date
  • the child leaves the customer’s care
  • CCS eligibility is cancelled

The Subsidy % column holds the applicable percentage rates for each child.

• Before 10 July 2023:
  • For the Standard Rate Child, the CCS percentage will be capped at maximum CCS of 85%
  • For the Higher Rate Child, the CCS percentage is up to 30% higher than the Standard Rate, capped at 95%
• From 10 July 2023:
  • For the Standard Rate Child, the CCS percentage is based on the Standard income test, capped at 90%
  • For the Higher Rate Child, the higher rate of CCS is based on the Higher CCS income test, capped at 95%

Selecting the 'I' information hyperlink will show a breakout window with further information on how the CCS percentage has been calculated. The Resources page also has a graph showing the standard and higher rates of CCS and how the CCS percentage is affected by family income.

Also see the Resources page of Changes in circumstances and date of effect for Child Care Subsidy (CCS) and Additional Child Care Subsidy (ACCS) for examples.

See Entitlement for Child Care Subsidy for more information.

Return to Identify possible causes.

TFN requirements

CCS cannot be granted without a Tax File Number (TFN), however, an exemption may be requested:

• if the customer is unable to supply a TFN for their current partner or former partner for a genuine reason, or
• where a claim is being made in substitution for a deceased customer

See Exemption from providing Tax File Numbers when claiming Child Care Subsidy (CCS).

TFN mismatch

• To determine if a TFN mismatch has occurred, go to either:
  • the Mutual Customer Identification Progress Stage (MCIPS) screen in Process Direct. TFN mismatches and matches will show in the Mutual Customer Identification Progress Stage Details table, or
  • the Mutual Customer Identification (MCI) screen in Customer First. The most recent MCI status will show at the top of the screen
• If CCS is granted with a TFN mismatch, entitlement will reduce to zero after 56 days and will not be reinstated until TFN(s) are supplied. CCS entitlement will be reinstated from the date the nil rate applied. See Mutual Customer Identification (MCI) results for family assistance customer mismatches

TFN match

If a TFN mismatch has been resolved and MCI is now showing a match for the customer and/or partner, but Child Care Subsidy (CCS) is still at a zero rate, from the CCS Entitlement table complete a Reassess Customer to make sure the outcome is correct.

Any CCS zero rate periods before the current financial year will be reassessed at reconciliation.

Do not record TFNs in Notes on a customer's record.

If an error is encountered 'Message not found (in main memory)' when reassess is selected, the reassessment is already occurring in the background.

Return to Identify possible causes.

In Process Direct:

• select the Child Care icon or go to the Child Care Subsidy (CCS/CCP) screen
• open the Recognised Participation twisty to view the customer and partner (if they have one) participation details and participation exemptions
• toggle between Previous Period and Next Period to see where different values have been coded for customer and/or partner. A date change in recognised participation may correspond with a change in Entitlement

To view historically coded information:

• go to the Recognised Participation Details (RPD) screen, and
• select Show History. Previously deleted lines can be opened and viewed by selecting on the left of the table

Note: close Show History before navigating to partner record.

Return to Identify possible causes.

In Process Direct:

• select the Child Care icon or go to the Child Care Subsidy (CCS/CCP) screen
• Open the Activity Test twisty to view the customer and partner ATD details
• Toggle between Previous Period and Next Period to see where different values have been coded for customer and/or partner. A date change in ATD may correspond with a change in Entitlement
• A second table also shows if any exemptions to the Activity Test have been applied

To view historically coded information, go to the Activity test details (ATD) screen and select Show History. Previously deleted lines can be opened and viewed by selecting on the left of the table.

Note: close Show History before navigating to partner record.

Return to Identify possible causes.

A customer can get 100 hours of subsidised child care for up to 6 weeks from the date of departure.

• Go to the Immigration Movements (RSIM) screen to view immigration movements for the customer
• Note the most recent dates: if the most recent departure date is more than 6 weeks ago, the customer's CCS rate may have reduced to 0%
• Note: this table only shows information for the individual whose record is open. To view partner or child immigration movement information, select the relevant person from the relationship burger and go to the respective RSIM tables
• After investigating, if the customer and/or child has returned to Australia and CCS is still at zero rate, from the CCS Entitlement table, complete a Reassess Customer

Note: the reassess function may take 24 hours to take effect. Do not escalate unless:

• 24 hours has passed since actioning the reassessment in Process Direct, and
• the outcome is still incorrect

If an error is encountered 'Message not found (in main memory)' when reassess is selected, the reassessment is already occurring in the background.

The reassess customer function will only reassess CCS for the current CCS year. It will not reassess CCS entitlement for previous CCS years.

If CCS shows as 0% in the previous financial year, check the relevant CCS reconciliation dashboard for any arrears. Arrears will be paid once reconciliation is complete.

More details can be found in Family Tax Benefit (FTB), Child Care Subsidy (CCS) and Parental Leave Pay (PPL) customer/child going overseas.

Return to Identify possible causes.

• If investigating a customer's rate in Process Direct Customer Summary:
  • select the Child Care icon or go to the Child Care Subsidy (CCS/CCP) screen
  • open the Entitlement twisty
  • selecting 'I' information next to the zero percentage will indicate the reason for the rate drop
  • if the 1st deadline rules are being applied, the following will show where reconciliation requirements have not been met: 'Income requirements not met for financial year 2019/2020'. This will show for the relevant CCS year as well as the current CCS year until reconciliation requirements are met
• If customer subsequently meets reconciliation requirements, 'I' information will indicate the CCS Monday the assessed rate of entitlement will restart: Income requirements met xx.xx.xxxx for 20xx/20xx
• If investigating a reconciliation result, the CCS Reconciliation Dashboard will also show the alert 'Non Lodger: Deadline 1' in the instance window if the relevant year income requirements have not been met

In the Debt Management Application:

• An undetermined Debt Reason CNL-Income Tax Return not lodged shows for customers who have:
  • not lodged tax returns,
  • told Services Australia they are not required to lodge, or
  • lodged an RNN advice with the ATO but not provided their income to Services Australia
• The Total Amount field show the total entitlement paid in any week as CCS in the CCS year. For any weeks where ACCS has been paid, the whole amount for that week will not be included in the non-lodger debt

In the CCS Reconciliation Dashboard:

• A banner will appear in the instance window stating 'Non Lodger: Deadline 1'. The total entitlement paid in any week as CCS in the CCS year shows as a UND. DEBT. For any week that has a component of ACCS, the whole amount will be quarantined from the debt and still appear as Entitled
• Check the Tax Return Status tab and investigate according to Customer enquires about Child Care Subsidy (CCS) reconciliation outcome

For more information see Child Care Subsidy (CCS) deadlines and Child Care Subsidy (CCS) special circumstances deadline extensions.

Return to Identify possible causes.

• If investigating a customer's rate in Process Direct Customer Summary:
  • select the Child Care icon and open the Entitlement twisty
  • selecting 'I' information next to the percentage will indicate the reason for the rate drop
• If the 2nd deadline rules are being applied, the customers CCS will show as CAN from the first CCS Monday following the 2nd deadline
• If investigating a reconciliation result, the CCS Reconciliation Dashboard will also show the alert 'Non Lodger: Deadline 2' in the instance window if the relevant year income requirements have not been met

In the Debt Management Application:

• A determined Debt Reason CNL-Income Tax Return not lodged shows for customers who:
  • have not lodged tax returns,
  • told Services Australia they are not required to lodge, or
  • who have lodged an RNN advice with the ATO but not provided their income to Services Australia
• The Total Amount field shows the total entitlement paid in the CCS year, excluding any periods where the customer was paid ACCS

In the CCS Reconciliation Dashboard:

A banner will appear in the instance window stating 'Non Lodger: Deadline 2'.

• If the customer later meets the income requirements, a new instance will show
  • If the result is a debt or a zero outcome the instance will appear as a normal reconciliation instance
  • If the result is a top-up, a banner will appear in the instance window stating 'No arrears paid due to 2DL NLG'
  • The Reconciliation outcome tab will also show the total amount withheld due to 2nd deadline impacts. The total amount not paid to customer will show under 'Arrears withheld due to 2DL NLG'
• If a customer re-reconciles this will create a new instance in the Reconciliation dashboard

Check the Tax Return Status tab and investigate according to Customer enquires about Child Care Subsidy (CCS) reconciliation outcome.

For more information see Child Care Subsidy (CCS) deadlines and Child Care Subsidy (CCS) special circumstances deadline extensions.

Return to Identify possible causes.

In Process Direct:

• select the Child Care icon or go to the Child Care Subsidy (CCS/CCP) screen
• open the Child School Details twisty to show the school level for relevant CCS children
• CCS is not payable for children attending secondary school, or who are aged 14 years and older, unless an exemption has been granted
• Children attending primary education will receive a lower hourly rate cap than children below school age

Return to Identify possible causes.

• Select the Child Care icon
• The Child Immunisation Details twisty will show immunisation status for all CCS assessed children
• If a child has entered an immunisation grace period, this will show in the Child Grace Period Details twisty
• Both twisties toggle between Previous Periods and Next Periods to identify the date of change, which may correspond with an increase in child care fees advised by the customer
• Further information may also be obtained from the child's record. Select the relevant child from and go to the Immunisation (CIM) screen

If the customer advises child met immunisation requirements before cancellation, see Immunisation requirements for Child Care Subsidy (CCS).

Return to Identify possible causes.

Customers will notice an increase in out of pocket expenses if a previously granted period of ACCS has stopped.

To review periods of ACCS granted, onn the Child Care Subsidy (CCS/CCP) screen:

• Toggle between previous and next periods in the Entitlement to show the dates ACCS has been applied to the customers entitlement
• Details such as grant dates and end dates for each type of ACCS payment can be viewed via the twisty for:
  • ACCS Temporary Financial Hardship
  • ACCS Transition to Work
  • ACCS Grand Parent
  • ACCS Child Wellbeing

Further detail about each of the specific ACCS assessments can be found at the relevant screen. Go to the:

• TFH Assessment (TFH) screen for ACCS (temporary financial hardship) assessment information
• Transition To Work (TTW) screen for ACCS (transition to work) assessment information
• ACCS Grand Parent (CHGA) screen for ACCS (grandparent) assessment information

Return to Identify possible causes.

If the customer is reporting an increase in out of pocket child care fees, check that the absences for the relevant child/children have not been exhausted.

Absences before the child's first physical attendance, or after the child's last physical attendance can be ‘disregarded absences’ unless approved by the service within 7 days. Customers will be liable for full fees where the absence is a disregarded absence.

In Process Direct:

• Select the Child Care icon or go to the Child Care Subsidy (CCS/CCP) screen
• Open the Entitlement Usage twisty
• Open the Absences sub twisty to show tallied absences for each CCS assessed child
• Toggle between CCS years by selecting Previous Period or Next Period
• The absence cap for the relevant CCS year will show, as well as the number of absences remaining before evidence is required
• For additional breakdown, select the hyperlink figure in the Total Absences column. This will show the Absences table:
  • Enrolment ID
  • Service
  • Absent Date
  • Paid - if payment was made or not
  • Reason - the reason the absence day was not paid

Note: the absence days per financial year relates to each child, not to each individual claimant.

More information can be found in Absences for Child Care Subsidy (CCS) and Additional Child Care Subsidy (ACCS).

Return to Identify possible causes.

For CCS to be paid to the customer’s child care provider they must:

• have been granted CCS, and
• confirmed their child’s enrolment, and
• have sessions lodged and received

If the customer is impacted by a multiple child CRN, the CCS entitlement and/or enrolment may have been completed for the same child using different CRNs e.g. the multiple CRN. If the CRN does not match between the CCS assessment and enrolment/sessions, CCS is not paid.

For example: CCS has been granted for the multiple child CRN and the enrolment/sessions have been received for the primary CRN. As the CRNs do not match, CCS is not paid.

To identify a multiple child CRN:

• check Display on Access (DOA) document identifying the correct CRN to use
• before creating a new child record, complete searches to confirm:
  • spelling of child name(s)
  • date of birth
  • if have they been known by other names
• take extra care if a child has entered the customer’s care e.g. foster, grandparent carer

Where a multiple child CRN assessment has not been completed, refer the case to the Data Quality Unit (DQU).

If enrolment/session reports have been received for the multiple CRN, do not make any changes to the record. Refer for investigation to the CCS Level 3 Policy Helpdesk. See Remediating a multiple or intertwined Centrelink Reference Number (CRN) – Families.

Return to Identify possible causes.

Exceptional Circumstances are assessed to provide families access to additional child care during family crises.

Reasons for coding an exceptional circumstance include:

• ACCS percentage (family)
• Child age or School status
• ACCS subsidised hours (family)
• CCS subsidised hours (family)
• Reconciliation subsidised hours (family)
• CCS subsidised hours (child)
• Immunisation
• Portability
• Residence
• CCS percentage (child)
• Tax File Number
• Non Lodger Exception
• Reconciliation Exception

In Process Direct:

• check the Exceptional Circumstance (EXC) screen to see if an exceptional circumstance has been previously coded for the customer or one of the children, or
• under the Child Care icon, open the Exceptional Circumstance twisty which may also indicate an EXC determination has recently ended
• check Notes to see if information is recorded regarding why the exceptional circumstances were applied

See Exceptional circumstances for Child Care Subsidy (CCS) and Additional Child Care Subsidy (ACCS) for further information.

Return to Identify possible causes.

If a child/customer has been cancelled due to the 26 week rule, the Entitlement twisty will show a Status of 'Not Eligible' with Status Reason '26W'.

If a customer asks about the cancellation, review the session reports submitted in the previous 26 weeks.

• Select the Child Care icon or go to the Child Care Subsidy (CCS/CCP) screen
• Open the Session Reports twisty to view the child/ren child care usage
• Adjust the session report start and end date to see when the most recent session of care was attended. Note: applicable sessions of care for the 26 week include allowable absences

When reviewing session reports, check the Status Details of the session report to see what date the session of care was withdrawn/submitted.

CCS can be reassessed without a new claim where session reports have been submitted late by the child care service. The session report must confirm the child attended care in the 26 weeks prior to cancellation.

To reassess, see in Cancellation of Child Care Subsidy (CCS) the:

• Process page > Table 2 for further information
• Resources page for examples of the 26 week rule, including reassessment due to late submission of session reports

If CCS cancelled correctly and the customer still needs CCS, tell them to lodge a new claim for that child.

Return to Identify possible causes.

In Process Direct:

• select the Child Care icon or go to the Child Care Subsidy (CCS/CCP) screen
• expand the Child Heritage twisty
• use the arrows to toggle between Previous Period and Next Period to identify where changes may have taken effect

From 5 January 2026, see Coding recognised participation for Child Care Subsidy (CCS).

Before 5 January 2026, see Coding Activity Test details for Child Care Subsidy (CCS).

Return to Identify possible causes.

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:

• the type of approved child care they are attending
• the child’s age, and
• CCS entitlement

See Child Care Subsidy - income thresholds, annual subsidy cap and hourly rate caps.

Return to Identify possible causes.

A customer will not be entitled to receive CCS as reduced fees unless they have confirmed their child’s enrolment details submitted by the child care service.

If a period in the past has not been paid CCS, check historic enrolments to ensure they have been confirmed.

In Process Direct:

• select the Child Care icon or go to the Child Care Subsidy (CCS/CCP) screen
• open the Enrolments twisty

The Enrolment List will list all current enrolments.

• To view details of an Enrolment Notice, select the relevant Notice from the Enrolment List and details will display in a new Enrolment Notice table
• Enrolment status will display as well as the latest notice status which is a sub status

To view historical Enrolments:

• select the current enrolment from the Enrolments table, then
• select the Show History option (right hand top of Enrolments table)

See Enrolment requirements for Child Care Subsidy (CCS) for enrolment status explanations and reassessments.

Return to Identify possible causes.

If a child attends more than one service, a customer can choose how many CCS hours each service can receive.

In Process Direct:

• go to Child Care Service Apportionment (APP) screen
• the CCS Apportionment details table will display, including start dates, Enrolment IDs and hours apportioned

When a customer’s apportionment has changed, the Show History will display the original recorded information.

If customers do not allocate their hours, CCS entitlement will be processed based on the child’s attendance until the eligible hours of subsidy are used up.

See Apportioning hours of Child Care Subsidy.

Return to Identify possible causes.

If the customer advises they have not received their CCS payment:

• In Customer First, search Payment List, located under Financial Customer Care in Workspace
• Returned payments will display a negative amount and have a Return Reason in the Text: field

To see when the payment was issued, select the Payment Amount hyperlink and the Item Display will present, giving a breakdown of the payment.

Check the Payment Destination Details (PAS) screen in Process Direct and confirm a payment destination is recorded and is up to date under the FAO - Family Assistance Office payment system. If payment destination needs updating, see Changing payment destination.

Note: if a payment displays as a Returned payment, this will be automatically reissued when customer bank account details are updated in Process Direct. See Change the payment destination.

Return to Identify possible causes.

To be eligible for CCS, the child must be an FTB or considered a regular care child, that is, have more than 14% care of the child.

The CCS rate can change when a child leaves care.

The Child in Care (CHC) screen shows the care status of the child.

The Shared Care assessment (SCA) screen shows the Shared care assessment.

For more information, see:

• Change of care for FTB
• Notification and assessment of shared care arrangements for FTB

Return to Identify possible causes.

CCS may have cancelled due to the child receiving a precluding payment.

A child may claim a Centrelink payment in their own right if their custodial parent cannot receive a social security payment due to residence status.

• In the child’s record go to:
  • in Process Direct ABH (payment history status), or
  • in Customer First XBS (Benefit Status), select system ALL
• View any DOCs (not notes) to indicate another payment has been granted for the child.

See Special Benefit (SpB) for Australian Citizen Child (ACC) and Australian permanent resident children.