Subsidised Childcare Fees
The Child Care Subsidy makes childcare more affordable for many Australian families, and if you’re new to the world of early childhood education and care, here’s a guide to getting this financial help.
BY HEJIRA CONVERY, KINDICARE
If you’re a family needing childcare now or next year, it's good to know that the Child Care Subsidy is your friend!
This Federal government payment goes straight to childcare providers to reduce the fees that many parents pay, and although there are eligibility criteria, there’s a good chance you’ll get some fee relief when you put your hand up for this payment.
Below we provide a rundown of the eligibility requirements for the Child Care Subsidy, and explain how to claim the CCS and (hopefully) reduce your costs when you start using childcare.
How to gauge if your family is eligible for the Child Care Subsidy
If you have an early learner or an older child, you might be eligible for the CCS if you or your partner:
- Care for your child at least two nights per fortnight, or have 14% care, AND
- Are using an approved childcare service (such as a long day care, Family Day Care or Outside School Hours Care service), AND
- Are responsible for paying the childcare fees, AND
- Meet the residence rules.
Your child must also:
- Meet the immunisation requirements, AND
- Not be going to secondary school (though there are exemptions).
How to claim the Child Care Subsidy
If you think your family will be eligible, you can then take steps to apply for the CCS payment.
It’s best to do this before your child starts attending their childcare service, so everything is set up by their start date and you’re not paying full fees (though a CCS claim can be backdated up to 28 days).
To actually start your claim, you’ll need a myGov account, linked to Centrelink.
There’s info here to help you set up a myGov account if you haven’t done this before, but if you’re already up and running with Centrelink, you can apply for the CCS by following the steps below.
Just keep in mind that you will need some time to focus on the task at hand, and some figures to support your claim, so this childcare admin might be best done when you’re fresh and your child is elsewhere!
To get your Child Care Subsidy claim underway, follow these six steps:
1. Sign in to myGov and go to Centrelink
Once you’re in Centrelink, click MENU in the top left, then click Payments and Claims, then Claims, then Make a Claim.
From there, click the Get Started button in the Families category, and select Apply for Family Assistance (including Paid Parental Leave).
Services Australia will ask you some questions to check if you’re eligible, so click Begin, work your way through them, then click Continue.
2. Claim for the Child Care Subsidy
Next, Services Australia will ask for some info about your family, so click Begin on the About your Family page, answer the questions, and Continue.
When you arrive at the Claim Options page, click Begin, then Child Care Subsidy, then Next.
If you’d like to claim another family assistance payment at the same time (like the Family Tax Benefit), this is ok, and you just need to check the boxes next to each payment you’re claiming, then go on.
3. Share information about your circumstances and finances
To do this, click the Start button in the Your Personal Details section and work your way through this step, then the Your Circumstances and Your Financial Details steps.
To proceed with your claim, all of the steps need to be marked Completed, and you can click Edit to make changes if need be.
4. Review your Child Care Subsidy claim
Click Start in the Review and Confirm section, then click Begin in the Confirm Details part, to check over the answers you’ve provided.
If you need to change anything, click the Update button (e.g. Update About Me).
Then, once you’re happy with everything, and agree with your obligations in the Declaration section, click Next, then Confirm Information to lock in your info.
5. Provide supporting documents
When you get to the Next Steps page, it’s time to upload any documents Services Australia asks for, and complete any outstanding tasks.
Services Australia usually asks for ‘common documents’ (like your tax file number and bank account details) to support your claim, and there’s more info about supporting documents here.
You can submit documents later, if you haven’t got them at hand, but it’s a good idea to have everything ready to go, so you can get your claim in, and processed, sooner.
6. Submit your claim
Once you’ve uploaded the necessary documents and ticked off all your tasks, click Submit and make a note of the Claim ID number you’re given.
Before you log out, Services Australia will also give you a rough guide as to when your claim will be processed, and you can check its progress by clicking the Make a Claim or View Claim Status button on the Centrelink homepage.
How to know what childcare fee assistance you’re entitled to
Once Services Australia has finalised your CCS claim, they’ll send you an assessment notice via your myGov inbox.
This notice will confirm whether you’re eligible for the CCS, and what assistance you’ll get with your childcare fees.
Among other things, the notice will tell you the Child Care Subsidy percentage you’re entitled to for your child’s care.The standard percentage rate will be between 90% and 0%, based on your family income estimate, and if you have more than one young child going to childcare, you may be entitled to a higher CCS percentage for your younger child/ren, up to 95%.
Your CCS percentage will be applied either to the hourly fee you’re charged by your childcare service. OR the hourly rate cap for the type of service you’re using, whichever is lower.
So, for example, if your family is entitled to a CCS percentage of 90% and you will be charged $15 per hour at your long day care, the 90% rate will be applied to the hourly rate cap for centre-based care, which is currently $14.29 per hour.
This fee reduction will be paid direct to your childcare provider, and you will be charged the gap fee – the amount remaining.
The CCS assessment notice will also confirm the number of hours per fortnight that the government will subsidise.Though the Productivity Commission has recommended that the CCS activity test be scrapped, your family’s subsidised hours per fortnight will be calculated according to how much work, study or other recognised activities you do.
So, for example, if you work a 40 hour week, you’ll be clocking more than 48 hours per fortnight and should be able to access 100 hours of subsidised care per fortnight.
How to actually get the Child Care Subsidy
The government will only pay the CCS when your CCS claim has been approved and you’ve confirmed your child’s childcare enrolment details, so it’s very important that you do this last bit of childcare admin.
Some families confirm their child’s enrolment when claiming the CCS, but if there weren’t any enrolment details when you were clicking through all those sections in myGov, then you’ll need to speak to your childcare service and ask them to submit your child’s enrolment details.
You can then click Task in your Centrelink account, and click Confirm, once you’ve checked that the information and fees in the enrolment details match what’s in the agreement you have with your childcare service.
There’s more info here, and if you have any questions or concerns about anything CCS-related, your childcare service and the Services Australia website are both great go-tos.
It’s definitely worth putting time into your CCS claim, because many families get substantial assistance with childcare fees, and you want to be one of them, if at all possible!
Then, assuming you do get the CCS, make sure you keep your details up-to-date with Services Australia and tell them about changes to your circumstances, like a new address or pay rise, to ensure your CCS is correct and no pesky debt comes into play.