From 10 July 2023, the Commonwealth Government Child Care Subsidy (CCS) is making high-quality early education and care more affordable for Australian families.
These exciting changes and how they could apply to your circumstances may be tricky to navigate. We are here to help you understand the changes and make the most of what your CCS entitlements could be.
Key changes
• If your family earns less than $80,000 per year, your Child Care Subsidy rates will increase from 85% to 90%.
• If your family earns under $530,000 per year, you’ll now be eligible to receive Child Care Subsidy rates.
• Your Child Care Subsidy rates will decrease 1% for every additional $5,000 earned over $80,000.
• Families with more than one child aged 5 or under can still get a higher rate for their second and younger children.
• First Nations children will be eligible for at least 36 hours of subsidised care per fortnight.
• Families can get more subsidised hours based on their circumstances.
Frequent asked questions
How much CCS will I entitle for ?
This will depend on four factors:
• Your total combined family income
• The service type. This can be long day care, or outside school hours care (OSHC)
• The number of children you have in care
• How much ‘work-related’ activity undertaken each fortnight by parents and carers
How to apply?
You’ll be applying for CCS via your MyGov Account, which is linked to Centrelink. Do this as soon as you know when you might be sending your little one into care so that it’s all set up and ready to go for your child’s first day. Don’t necessarily wait until you’ve found a centre that you’re happy with. The entire process may take between four and six weeks, and if it’s not set up when you begin care, you may be paying full fees until it’s all complete.