Sending your little ones to child care service can put a huge financial strain on working families. This is why the Australian government offers assistance in the form of the Childcare Subsidy (CCS) to help ease the cost of childcare for eligible families. But with so many moving parts, navigating the CCS and the claims process can be a tricky task. So, to help you better understand how the Childcare Subsidy works, we've detailed the CCS process.
What does the Childcare Subsidy mean?
The Child care Subsidy (CCS) is the largest form of government assistance to help ease the cost of childcare for families. Introduced in July 2018, the CCS replaced the former Child Care Benefit and Child Care Rebate.
The CCS is paid by Services Australia directly to your approved child care service or provider. Eligible families then benefit from this subsidy in the form of reduced child care fees. Essentially, families have to cover the gap between the subsidy and the childcare provider's fees.
To help you get a better grasp on how the CCS works, we've broken the CCS process down into five individual steps.
The Childcare Subsidy process
With so many moving parts, it's no wonder that the CCS can be a little confusing at times. So before you get stuck into applying for the CCS it can be helpful to understand how the process works, from the eligibility requirements to receiving your assessment notice.
1. Meet the eligibility requirements
The CCS isn't available to everyone, so it's worth reviewing the eligibility requirements prior to applying for the child care subsidy claim. In order to qualify for the CCS, you and your partner must meet the following eligibility requirements:
- Care for your child at least two nights per fortnight or have 14% care,
- Pay for the childcare fees at an approved childcare service, like centre-based day care, family day care, outside school hours care or in-home childcare, and
- Meet residence rules.
In addition to these requirements, your child must also:
- Meet immunisation requirements, and
- Not be attending secondary school unless an exemption applies. If your child attends a secondary school, you may still be eligible for the CCS if you can prove your child needs supervision and they're aged 13 or under, or aged 14 to 18 and have a disability.
Further to the CCS, the government also provides extra support for families in the form of the Additional Childcare Subsidy, which is paid on top of the CCS. To receive extra support, you must be one of the following:
- An eligible grandparent receiving an income support payment,
- Transitioning from income support payments to work,
- Experiencing financial hardship, or
- Caring for a child who is vulnerable or at risk of harm, abuse or neglect.
Low income families with more than one child aged 5 or below can quality to get a higher rate for their second and younger children.
2. Meet the income and work requirements
Once you've checked that you're eligible for the CCS against the requirements, you can determine how much support you may be able to receive. The amount of CCS that you're eligible to receive will be assessed on four criteria:
- Your family's combined income,
- The hourly rate cap based on the type of childcare your child is enrolled in and their age,
- The hours of approved work or activity that you and your partner do, and
- The number of children in your care.
Interested in learning more about how to calculate the CCS? You can read up on our blogs detailing the CCS rates and how to calculate the CCS. Otherwise, check out the Care for Kids Child Care Subsidy Calculator to find out how much CCS you could claim and estimate your out-of-pocket childcare expenses.
3. Apply for the CCS
Once you've checked that you meet the eligibility criteria as well as the income and work requirements it's time to apply for the CCS.
Start by setting up your online accounts. You'll need a myGov account as well as a Centrelink account. Once these accounts are both up and running, you'll need to link your Centrelink account to your myGov account.
To claim the CCS, you'll need a Customer Reference Number (CRN). To get a CRN, you must first prove your identity online, over the phone or in person at a Centrelink service centre.
As part of the CCS application process, you'll also need to provide Centrelink with supporting documents. Centrelink will tell you exactly which documents to supply before submitting your claim. You might also need to supply supplementary documents. Although it's best to supply these with the required documents, you do have up to 14 days after you submit your CCS claim to submit these additional documents if you need a bit of extra time.
4. Enrol your child in childcare
Whether you confirmed your child's enrolment details during your CCS application or you verified them after completing your claim, you'll need to finalise your child's childcare enrolment before you can receive the CCS.
Your childcare provider will submit your child's enrolment details to Centrelink. Once this information has been provided by the childcare provider, it will be available for you to check in your Centrelink online account. It's your responsibility to make sure these details match up with your Complying Written Arrangement (CWA) provided by the childcare service. The CWA details things like childcare fees and care sessions. These details are used to calculate how much assistance you can claim.
If there are any discrepancies, reach out to your childcare provider. They should be able to explain any differences to you or amend any errors so you can confirm your child's enrolment details and proceed with your CCS claim.
5. Receive your CCS assessment notice
So how long does child care subsidy take to process? Once you've submitted your CCS claim, it will be assessed within 28 days. You'll then be provided with an assessment notice detailing the outcome of your claim. This notice will tell you:
- Whether you're eligible to receive the CCS,
- The amount of childcare fee assistance you can expect to receive,
- The annual cap that applies to you, and
- The withholding amount.
You can track the status of your claim online. If you're eligible for the CCS, Centrelink will pay the subsidy directly to your childcare provider so all you have to do is cover the gap.
Are you on the hunt for early childhood education or childcare provider for your little one? Use our childcare search tool to find and compare the best childcare services in your area. We've also got plenty of resources, articles and tips to support you on your childcare journey.
