Child Care Subsidy (CCS)

Child Care Subsidy (CCS) is the Australian Government's child care payment. It is paid directly to the child care service you use, so you pay less in fees. Your subsidy percentage depends on your family income, and there is an hourly rate cap. From 5 January 2026, the 3 Day Guarantee gives eligible families at least 72 hours of subsidised care per fortnight. CCS only covers government-approved child care, and you must meet residence rules and your child must meet immunisation requirements.

Key facts

Basic conditions

You or your partner care for the child at least 2 nights per fortnight (or 14% of the time); you are responsible for paying the fees for approved child care; you meet the residence rules; and your child is 13 or under and not in secondary school (with some exceptions) and meets the immunisation requirements¹

Types of approved child care

Centre Based Day Care (long day care and occasional care), Family Day Care, Outside School Hours Care (before school, after school and vacation care), and In Home Care¹

Subsidy percentage by family income (2026–27 financial year)

A$0 to A$88,520: 90%. Over A$88,520 and under A$538,520: starts at 90% and goes down by 1% for every A$5,000 of extra income. A$538,520 or more: 0%²

Subsidised hours per fortnight (from 5 January 2026)

If you and your partner each do 48 hours or less of recognised participation per fortnight: 72 hours. If you do more than 48 hours, or have a valid exemption: 100 hours. Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander children: 100 hours. This is per child⁴

Hourly rate cap, children below school age (2026–27 financial year)

Centre Based Day Care A$15.19; Family Day Care A$14.08; Outside School Hours Care A$15.19; In Home Care A$41.31 per family³

Hourly rate cap, school-age children (2026–27 financial year)

Centre Based Day Care A$13.30; Family Day Care A$14.08; Outside School Hours Care A$13.30; In Home Care A$41.31 per family³

How the subsidy is worked out

Your subsidy percentage is applied to the lower of the service's hourly fee and the hourly rate cap. The subsidy is paid directly to the child care service²

Withholding

5% of your subsidy is withheld each fortnight to reduce the risk of an overpayment at the end of the year. After balancing, any amount you are owed is paid to you. You can change your withholding percentage online twice each financial year²

Residence rules

On the day you claim, you or your partner must live in Australia and be an Australian citizen, hold a permanent visa, a Special Category visa, or a specific temporary visa (a partner provisional visa or a temporary protection type visa). There are other exceptions, such as family members of PALM scheme subclass 403 visa holders, students sponsored by the Australian Government to study in Australia, and hardship or special circumstances⁵

Newly arrived resident's waiting period

There is no newly arrived resident's waiting period for Child Care Subsidy⁶

Who is this for, and what are the requirements?

• You or your partner care for the child at least 2 nights per fortnight or 14% of the time, and you are the person who pays the child care service. Each person who pays fees must make their own claim.
• Your child is 13 or under and not in secondary school. A child in secondary school may qualify only in exceptional cases, such as when they need supervision (aged 13 or under, or aged 14–18 with a disability).
• The child care service must be government-approved child care (see the facts above). Paying someone privately to look after your child does not count.
• Residence: you or your partner are an Australian citizen, or hold a permanent visa, a Special Category visa, a partner provisional visa or a temporary protection type visa. Families on common temporary visas such as student or work visas usually do not qualify (students sponsored by the Australian Government are an exception).
• Your child must meet the immunisation requirements: up to date with the National Immunisation Program schedule, on a catch-up schedule, or with a medical exemption or natural immunity recorded on the AIR.

How do I do it? Steps and process

1. Check that you qualify and find a child care place

   Check the conditions above, then find an approved child care service and secure a place. The subsidy does not guarantee you a place. You arrange the place with the service yourself.

2. Get your information ready

   You need your and your partner's TFN, an estimate of your family income, your child's Medicare card number and the individual reference number on the card (to check immunisation records), your visa or residence details, the hours of recognised participation (work, study and similar) that you and your partner do each fortnight (you must report these if you want 100 hours), and the name of the child care service and the start date.

3. Submit your claim in myGov

   Sign in to myGov, then go to Centrelink, Make a claim or view claim status, Make a claim, Families, Get started, Apply for Family Assistance Payments (including Paid Parental Leave). According to the website, your claim can be backdated to the first Monday of the CCS fortnight that falls within 28 days before you submit it, so do not delay. If you already get CCS and want to add a child, use Add child in your online account.

4. Sign the agreement with the service and confirm the enrolment (CWA)

   The child care service will sign a Complying Written Arrangement (CWA) with you. It sets out the sessions of care and the fees. The person who claims CCS must be the same person who signs the CWA. Once the service submits the enrolment to Centrelink, go to myGov, Centrelink, My family, Child care, Enrolments, and check the fees and sessions. If everything is correct, select confirm. If something is wrong, ask the service to fix it first. The subsidy only starts once your claim is approved and the enrolment is confirmed.

5. Start getting the subsidy and pay the gap fee

   The subsidy is paid directly to the service. You pay the rest, called the gap fee, which must be paid electronically. 5% is withheld each fortnight. You can see your percentage and hours in the Child Care Subsidy summary in your Centrelink online account.

6. Stay eligible and keep your details up to date

   After CCS starts, your child must attend at least once within 26 weeks. If not, the subsidy may stop and you will need to claim again. Update your income estimate, work hours and relationship status online whenever they change.

7. Balancing at the end of the financial year

   The financial year runs from 1 July to 30 June. After it ends, you and your partner lodge your tax returns, or tell Centrelink in myGov that you do not need to lodge and confirm your income. From mid-August, Centrelink balances your CCS using your actual income. If you were underpaid, you get the difference (including the withheld amount). If you were overpaid, you must pay it back. According to the website, if you do not confirm your income within 1 year after the end of the financial year, your CCS drops to 0%. If you do not confirm within 2 years, your CCS is cancelled and you may have to repay the subsidy for that year.

What documents do I need?

• Your and your partner's TFN
• An estimate of your family income for this financial year
• Your child's Medicare card number and the Individual Reference Number on the card
• Proof of your visa or residence status (passport, visa, citizenship certificate and similar)
• The hours of recognised participation you and your partner do each fortnight (work, study, looking for work, volunteering and similar)
• Details of the child care service, and the Complying Written Arrangement (CWA) the service gives you

What should I watch out for?

• 3 Day Guarantee: from 5 January 2026, the old activity test was replaced. Eligible families get at least 72 hours of subsidised care per fortnight (about 3 days a week), no matter how much recognised participation they do. To get 100 hours, you and your partner must each do more than 48 hours of recognised participation per fortnight and report it to Centrelink. If you already get CCS, you do not need to do anything; the change is applied automatically.
• If your service charges a daily fee, divide the daily fee by the number of hours in that session to get the hourly fee. The hours in a session are not always the same as the hours your child actually attends, so ask the service.
• If you have more than one child aged 5 or under in care, your younger children may get a higher subsidy percentage. Centrelink works this out automatically. See the page Your number of children in care can affect it on the website.
• You can still claim if your income is above the limit (A$538,520 or more). If your actual income at balancing turns out to be below the limit, Centrelink will pay you the subsidy you were entitled to.
• Immunisation: if your child stops meeting the immunisation requirements, you have 63 days to fix it. Otherwise the subsidy stops and you must claim again, and the claim cannot be approved until the AIR record is updated. If your child was vaccinated overseas, give a translated record to an Australian vaccination provider so they can record it in the AIR.
• Families on student, work and other temporary visas usually do not qualify. The exceptions on the website are partner provisional visas, temporary protection type visas, students sponsored by the Australian Government, family members of PALM scheme subclass 403 visa holders, and hardship or special circumstances.
• Families in special circumstances (grandparent carers, families moving from income support to work, temporary financial hardship, or where a child's safety and wellbeing is at risk) can also apply for Additional Child Care Subsidy, which is paid on top of CCS.
• For questions, call the Centrelink families line on 136 150 (Monday to Friday, 8am–8pm).
• This page is an unofficial plain-English summary of public information. How much you can get depends on the assessment by Services Australia and the official website. It is not immigration, legal or financial advice.

What has changed recently?

• 2026-01-05
  The 3 Day Guarantee started: the old CCS activity test was replaced, and all eligible families now get at least 72 hours of subsidised care per fortnight. Families with more than 48 hours of recognised participation per fortnight, a valid exemption, or an Aboriginal or Torres Strait Islander child get 100 hours. Families already getting CCS were moved over automatically and did not need to do anything.Source: education.gov.au ↗

Common questions

Where can I check the official information?

1. Who can get Child Care SubsidyServices Australia · servicesaustralia.gov.au
2. Your income can affect Child Care SubsidyServices Australia · servicesaustralia.gov.au
3. The type of child care you use can affect Child Care SubsidyServices Australia · servicesaustralia.gov.au
4. Recognised participation and activity test for Child Care SubsidyServices Australia · servicesaustralia.gov.au
5. Residence rules for Child Care SubsidyServices Australia · servicesaustralia.gov.au
6. Newly arrived resident's waiting period (Child Care Subsidy)Services Australia · servicesaustralia.gov.au

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