Government Child Care Subsidy

Community & Family

Child Care Subsidy Explained

The Child Care Subsidy (CCS) is a form of financial assistance offered by the Australian Government to help families cover the cost of childcare. It replaced the previous system of Child Care Benefit and Child Care Rebate in 2018.

Families must meet eligibility requirements to access the CCS, and the rate of payment depends on several factors.

GOVERNMENT CCS

How it works

Am I eligible

In order to be eligible for CCS, your child/ren must be 13 years or under, and must meet immunisation and residency requirements. The person claiming CCS (parent/guardian) must satisfy the activity test.

CCS Calculator

The rate of pay is means tested and depends on factors such as your family’s income and activity level, how many children require care, your child/ren’s ages and the type of care they recieve.

How to apply

After confirming you are eligible for CCS you will need to sign into your MyGov account to apply.

Visit the link below to begin the process.

FAQs about CCS

The Services Australia website has helpful guides on eligibility criteria and calculators to estimate the percentage of CCS your family is entitled to.

Though CCS is dependent on a family’s taxable income, it is not designed to fully cover child care fees so there will always be a gap.

All children who attend care must be enrolled correctly for payments to be made.

CCS is paid to Discovery at Play, which is passed on to families as a fee reduction. Therefore, families need only pay the leftover difference of the centre’s rate.

Yes, you can claim CCS for multiple children if eligibility criteria is met.

Families can get CCS when their child can’t attend care up to 42 days each year.