How Much Childcare Subsidy Can I Receive?

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Child Care Subsidy is calculated using:

• Your combined family income

• The number of children under five you have in childcare

• The level of activity you may be doing; if you are studying or volunteering, this may work in your favour towards your childcare subsidy

• Your childcare provider’s  hourly rate

Families with more than one child aged five or under in care can get a higher subsidy. The higher CCS will be paid to their second child and younger children.

Eligible children will get a 30% higher subsidy up to a maximum of 95%. If you have children born on the same day, such as twins, Services Australia should be contacted to ensure one child is determined as receiving the standard CCS rate with the other, the higher rate.

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Families must meet eligibility criteria to get CCS.

Parents must:

• Care for their child at least 2 nights per fortnight or have 14% share of care

• Be liable for child care fees at an approved child care service

• Meet residency requirements

Their child must:

• Meet immunisation requirements

• Not be attending secondary school (unless an exemption applies)

• Be 13 or under (except in certain circumstances)

If a child doesn’t attend a session of care at least once in 26 consecutive weeks, they will stop being eligible for CCS. If a child starts to attend care again, a family can make a new claim for CCS.

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The hours of subsidised care a family can get each fortnight depends on their  activity level. The higher the level of activity, the more hours of subsidised care families can get.

Services Australia looks at both parents’ activity level and use the parent with the lower activity level to determine a family’s hours of subsidised care.

Families need to do a recognised activity to get CCS.  Exemptions apply for parents who cannot meet activity test requirements.

For more information about how your activity level affects CCS, please go to the Australian Government Department of Education website.