Child Care Subsidy

To help Australian families, the government is injecting another $600 million a year to make child care more affordable, accessible and flexible. As of 2 July 2018 the new Child Care Subsidy (CCS) system came into effect. This replaced the Child Care Benefit (CCB) and Child Care Rebate (CCR) arrangement and has made it easier for families to access child care.

BCC Child Care is CSS approved. The child care subsidy is a means-tested benefit based on your family’s combined income and fortnightly activities such as work, study or volunteering. You can access more information about the Child Care Subsidy and how to apply for it here. Rebates will be processed and returned to you by the Centre.

This page will help you to understand more about CCS and outlines relevant information relating to how your rebate is calculated, making a claim and levels of activity. For many families CCS has been a great thing! It has given them greater access to child care and benefited their household budget. If after reading through the information below and on the Child Care Subsidy website you have further questions please get in touch via the website or call the office on 9836 7942.

Calculating your CCS subsidy 

Your CCS will be calculated using 3 components:

  • Total family income (combined household income)
  • Activity level of the least active family member
  • Lower of benchmark fee and Centre hourly fee

See below for more information on what this means.

ENROL YOUR CHILD

Combined family income 

The combined household income of your family will calculate the CCS percentage you’re entitled to. You will need to contact Centrelink if your combined income increases or decreases. Find out more about your combined household income here.

Family income

$66,958
$66,958 – $171, 958
$171,958 – $251,248
$251,248 – $341,248
$341,248 – $351,248
$351,248+

CCS %

85%
Subsidy reduces 1% for every $3,000 over $66,958
50%
Subsidy reduces 1% for every $3,000 over $251,248
20%
Nil

Level of activity 

CCS is linked to how much a family contributes to the Australian economy through ‘activity‘. This activity level is calculated from the parent with the lowest number of hours of activity.

Hours of activity (per fortnight) 

8 hours to 16 hours
16 hours to 48 hours
More than 48 hours

Maximum number of hours of subsidy (per fortnight)

36 hours
72 hours
100 hours

What counts as activity? 

Under the new system, you will only be able to access the Child Care Subsidy if you are doing suitable activity. The amount of hours of Child Care Subsidy that you’re eligible for is determined by the amount of activity you do.

Activity counts as:

  • Paid work (including unpaid lunch breaks)
  • Authorised leave such as maternity leave, long service leave and annual leave
  • Unpaid work in a family business
  • Unpaid leave of up to 6 months
  • Volunteering
  • Setting up a new business
  • Study and further education (includes semester breaks)
  • Work experience and internships
  • Time spent looking for work

Please note that this is not an exhaustive list. If you’re concerned that you won’t have enough activity or if you are confused as to what counts as activity, you can complete an activity test on the CCS website or call the office on 9836 7942 to discuss.

UPDATES TO CHILD CARE REBATES

What To Do Now

Step 1

Find out if you’re eligible. Some basic requirements must be satisfied for an individual to be eligible. Find them here.

Step 2

Register for CCS through your MyGov account and provide Centrelink with the required details.

Step 3

You will receive a notification from Centrelink informing you of your new CCS percentage and subsidy hours.

Questions or Concerns

If you have read all of the information on this page and on the Child Care Subsidy website and you are still feeling unsure please get in touch. You can send us a message via this website, email us at reception@balwyncc.org.au or call on 9836 7942. We can chat with you, answer your questions and clear up any concerns you might have.