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The Child Care Subsidy is a financial assistance to reduce your out-of-pocket costs for child care. Depending on your circumstances, you may be entitled to receive up to 90% of your child care fees covered by the subsidy.
How much you receive depends on a number of factors, including your family’s income, the age and number of children, the paid and unpaid activities, like your job or volunteer work, your family is involved in.
Knowing how to get the most out of the subsidy means maximizing the amount of time your child can spend in care, which supports vital learning and development.
It can be a little complicated so, we made it easy for you to understand how much of the child care benefit you might be eligible for with our simple Child Care Subsidy Calculator.
Rather than families receiving a child care rebate directly, the CSS is paid directly to providers to reduce the child care fees you pay.
To get the CCS you must:
Your CCS is calculated using three components:
You may also be able to get a higher subsidy if you have more than one child in care.
Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait Islander children may be able to access CCS without the activity test. Visit the Services Australia website to find out more.
You apply for the CCS online using your Services Australia or MyGov account.
You can use the Services Australia eligibility tool to guide you through the process of applying for a new childcare subsidy and more information about eligibility criteria can be found on the Services Australia website.
For eligible families, the Child Care Subsidy (CCS) reduces out of pocket expenses for child care. That means children can spend more time in quality early childhood education and care, giving them the best possible start to life.
Your Child Care Subsidy rate is a percentage, based on a number of eligibility factors, including your family’s income, the age of your child, and the paid and unpaid activities, like your job or volunteer work, your family is involved in.
For the 2024-25 financial year, families earning up to $533,280 may be eligible for support through the Child Care Subsidy, making childcare more affordable.
To ensure you’re maximizing the benefits from the Child Care Subsidy and resulting child care rebate, it’s important to understand how your family’s circumstances affect your entitlements. Here are some helpful tips about the child care benefit that could affect how much CCS you could get:
Your Child Care Subsidy eligibility and resulting Child Care Subsidy percentage is directly linked to your family’s joint income. If there have been any recent changes in your family income, be sure to update this information with Services Australia promptly. This will ensure you’re getting the correct subsidy percentage and not missing out on any potential savings.
The number of subsidised hours you can access is determined by the amount of time you spend on recognised activities each week. Remember, for couples, the lowest amount of activity between partners is used to calculate the subsidised child care rate. Therefore, it’s beneficial to check which activities are recognised by Services Australia and ensure your records are up to date.
Besides paid employment, recognised activities include unpaid work in a family business, training, study, job searching, volunteering, and setting up a business. Make sure to account for all these activities as they can collectively increase the number of subsidised care hours you’re entitled to.
If you engage in multiple recognised activities, you can combine the hours spent on each. This may lead to an increased number of subsidised hours, providing more flexibility and support for your child care needs.
Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait Islander children are entitled to at least 36 hours of subsidised care per fortnight, regardless of the amount of activity their families undertake. This ensures they have access to consistent and supportive early childhood education and care.
By keeping these tips in mind and regularly updating your details with Services Australia, you can maximise the benefits available through the Child Care Subsidy and ensure your family receives the appropriate level of support.
After choosing your preferred Guardian child care centre, apply as soon as possible for your Child Care Subsidy to avoid any delays in receiving your child care benefit. The increased Child Care Subsidy reduces your child care fees and makes quality care and education for your child more accessible. You can use our simple Child Care Subsidy calculator as a starting point which is based on the new Child Care Subsidy entitlements and eligibility criteria, so you know what your out-of-pocket expenses are likely to be and then apply for the Child Care Subsidy via Services Australia.
The best way to learn more about the Child Care Subsidy and how we support your child to grow and thrive, is to come into the Centre and speak to our experts. The team can share with you our guides which we’ve put together to make navigating Child Care Subsidy easier, they can show you around the Centre and introduce you to the team who will be looking after your child.