Author: CCSC

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CCS News

Enhanced Child Care Subsidy from July 2022

From July 2022, families will receive more support from the Australian Government with the Child Care Subsidy (CCS) set to be increased for families with multiple children under the age of 6, and the annual cap removed.

Overview

From July 2022, families will receive more support from the Australian Government with the Child Care Subsidy (CCS) set to be increased for families with multiple children under the age of 6. These changes are subject to the passage of legislation.

The changes include:

  • increasing the Child Care Subsidy for families with more than one child in care under the age of 6, and
  • removing the annual cap.

These measures will lower out-of-pocket costs for more than 250,000 families in 2022–23, with the Australian Government investing an additional $1.7 billion through CCS.

Families with children under 6 face higher child care costs and these are compounded where a family has more than one child. Thanks to the subsidy increase, families with multiple children aged under 6 in care will pay less in child care fees.

Increased subsidy for families with multiple children

From July 2022, the Australian Government will increase a family’s CCS if they:

  • earn under $353,680 (2020–21), and
  • have more than one child aged under 6 in care.

The Australian Government will increase the subsidy by 30% (capped at 95%) for their second child and subsequent children aged under 6 in care.

The increased subsidy will not apply to In Home Care sessions as IHC is subsidised on a family rather than per child basis.

Removing the annual cap

Families earning more than $189,390 (2020–21) now have an annual subsidy cap of $10,560 per child each financial year.

From July 2022, the Australian Government will remove this annual cap.

For more information please visit the official Enhanced Child Care Subsidy information page.

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CCS News

If you don’t confirm your 2018–19 income by 31 March, you’ll lose your Child Care Subsidy

Did you get Child Care Subsidy for 2018-19?

If you got Child Care Subsidy (CCS) for the 2018-19 financial year, you must confirm your income. If you haven’t, do it now.

If you don’t confirm your income by 31 March 2021, your CCS will reduce to 0%. This means you’ll need to pay full fees when you access child care.

The deadline for confirming your income was extended from 30 June 2020 to 31 March 2021 because of COVID-19.

If you confirm your income after 31 March 2021 we can start your CCS again.

But if there’s a gap between your CCS stopping and starting again, you’ll miss out on CCS for that time.

Letters were sent to families in February 2021 asking them to confirm their income.

How to confirm your income

You don’t need to call or visit Services Australia to confirm your income.

You need to either:

  • lodge your tax return with the Australian Taxation Office (ATO)
  • tell us you don’t need to lodge one and confirm your income online.

If you have a partner, they’ll need to do this too. If you separated during the year, Services Australia will also need your ex-partner’s income.

To check if you need to lodge a return, use the Do I need to lodge a tax return? tool on ato.gov.au.

If you’ve lodged your tax return, the ATO will send Services Australia your income information. Services Australia usually get this within 28 days from when you get your Notice of Assessment.

If you or your partner don’t need to lodge a tax return, you need to let Services Australia know.

You must do this, even if you’ve told the ATO that you don’t need to lodge. You can do this and confirm your income for the year using either your:

  • Centrelink online account through myGov
  • Express Plus Centrelink mobile app.

Where to find more information

For more information about Child Care Subsidy go to servicesaustralia.gov.au/ccstimelimits.

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CCS Exemption

Families who do not meet the CCS activity test but are eligible for the preschool exemption can still get CCS

What is the ‘preschool exemption’ to the activity test?
Families who do not meet and are not otherwise exempt from the Child Care Subsidy activity test will be entitled to 36 hours of subsidised care per fortnight to support their preschool-aged child to attend a preschool program at a Centre Based Day Care service.

When does the preschool exemption apply?
This exemption applies if a family meets the following criteria: 

  • they are eligible for Child Care Subsidy 
  • they are not otherwise exempt from the activity test 
  • it is the year before their child starts primary school, and 
  • their child attends a preschool program at a Centre Based Day Care service. 

This exemption only applies to preschool-aged children. It does not apply to other children in the same family. For the purpose of the Child Care Subsidy preschool exemption, a preschool aged child is a child in the year before their first year of primary school. States and territories refer to the first year of primary school differently (see the Services Australia website for details).

Families should provide Centrelink with their child’s expected school start date through myGov or the Express Plus Centrelink mobile app. Centrelink will use this information to work out if the exemption applies. 

For more information, please refer to the preschool exemption fact sheet.