Tag: Extra CCS

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CCS Eligibility CCS News

From 5 January 2026, families can get at least 72 subsidised hours of care each fortnight for each child

The Australian Government is replacing the Child Care Subsidy (CCS) Activity Test from January 2026 to guarantee at least 3 days of subsidised early childhood education and care (ECEC) each week for children who need it.

How will this initiative work?

From January 2026, all families will be eligible for at least 72 hours of subsidised ECEC per fortnight (3 days per week), regardless of their activity levels.

Families can still get 100 hours of subsidised ECEC per fortnight if they meet activity requirements or have a valid exemption.

Families caring for a First Nations child will be eligible for 100 hours of subsidised ECEC per fortnight.

Who will benefit?

The 3 Day Guarantee will benefit all families through certainty around eligibility for subsidised ECEC.

In its first full financial year the 3 Day Guarantee will benefit around 66,700 families, and more than 100,000 families will be eligible for additional hours of subsidised care.

Families earning over $533,280 in 2024-25 are not eligible for subsidised care – consistent with current settings.

Example of benefits

Sarah and Alex are a couple with one child accessing ECEC at 3 days (36 hours) per week. Their combined family income is $90,000 per annum. Sarah works full-time and Alex works 8 hours per week.

Previously, they were eligible for 18 hours of subsidised ECEC per week (36 hours per fortnight). From January 2026, they are eligible for 36 hours per week (72 hours per fortnight).

This saves them $230 per week of care ($11,400 per annum) from their provider charging the average Centre-Based Day Care hourly fee, assuming one child in care for 36 hours per week 50 weeks per year with the average projected fee for 2025-26.

For different family income thresholds, the better off amounts are:

If you want to estimate the possible benefits you might receive from this initiative you can use the 3 Day Guarantee – Early Education Child Care Subsidy Calculator.

How much will it cost?

The Australian Government will invest $426.7 million over five years from 2024-25, including implementation costs for Services Australia, to guarantee eligibility to at least 3 days of subsidised ECEC each week for children who need it.

If you want to learn more about the 3 days of subsidised ECEC you can visit the Fact Sheet – 3 Day Guarantee – Early Education page.

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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.

Categories
CCS News

Families affected by COVID-19 can apply for extra Child Care Subsidy (CCS) hours

Families who are doing less work, study or other recognised activity due to COVID-19 may be able to apply for more Child Care Subsidy (CCS) hours.

Families affected by COVID-19 may get up to 100 hours of CCS per fortnight for up to 12 weeks.

If you’re eligible, you can access extra hours between 13 July and 4 October 2020. You can apply any time before 4 October but the government can only back pay you up to 28 days.

It’s important you keep your activity test details up to date so the government can give you the right rate of CCS. Check they’re correct before applying for extra hours.

Who can get extra hours
You can get extra CCS hours if your family’s recognised activity level has gone down because of COVID-19. All of the following must also apply:

  • you don’t already have access to 100 hours of CCS
  • between 13 January and 22 March 2020, you were doing more than 16 hours of recognised activity per fortnight
  • now, you’re doing 8 or more hours of recognised activity per fortnight.

You can’t get extra hours if you’ve chosen to do less activity and this isn’t because of COVID-19.

What you need to do
You can apply for extra hours using your Centrelink online account through myGov. Select My Family from the menu, then Child care.

You can also use the Express Plus Centrelink mobile app.