The Child Care Subsidy can significantly reduce your childcare costs — but the rules can be confusing. Here's everything you need to know.
What Is the Child Care Subsidy?
The Child Care Subsidy (CCS) is an Australian Government payment that helps families with the cost of approved childcare. It's paid directly to your childcare provider, who then passes the saving on to you as a reduced gap fee.
How Much Can You Receive?
The amount you receive depends on three factors:
- Your combined family income — lower income families receive a higher subsidy percentage
- The type of childcare you use — different activity-tested hour limits apply
- Your activity level — the number of hours of subsidised care you're entitled to is based on how many hours of work, study, training, or volunteering you and your partner do
As of 2024, families earning under $80,000 per year are eligible for a subsidy of up to 90%. The subsidy gradually reduces as income increases, phasing out completely for families earning over $530,000.
Activity Test
The activity test determines how many hours of subsidised care you can access per fortnight. The more hours of recognised activity you do, the more hours of subsidised care you can access — up to a maximum of 100 hours per fortnight.
Recognised activities include paid work, self-employment, study, training, volunteering, and unpaid work in a family business.
How to Apply
- Create a myGov account and link it to Centrelink (if you haven't already)
- Complete the CCS assessment through your Centrelink online account
- Provide your childcare provider with your CRN (Customer Reference Number) and your child's CRN
- Your provider will then claim the subsidy on your behalf
Estimating Your Entitlement
Use the Services Australia CCS estimator at servicesaustralia.gov.au to get a personalised estimate of your entitlement. It takes about 5 minutes and gives you a clear picture of your likely out-of-pocket costs.
Victorian Funded Kinder
In addition to the CCS, Victorian families are entitled to funded Kinder hours. At Jenny's ELC, these funded hours are delivered within our integrated long day care program — meaning your child receives their full kinder entitlement without needing a separate kinder enrolment.
