What is the Child Care Subsidy in Australia?
Helping families with the cost of childcare is the main purpose of the child care subsidy in Australia program. In Australia, the past Child Care subsidies such as the 2018 Child Care Rebate and Child Care Benefit have been replaced today by the CCS or Child Care Subsidy.
Yet, what, exactly, is the Child Care Subsidy in Australia? What are the requirements to make a family eligible to get it?
Child Care Subsidy in Australia
Families get financial assistance in paying for the cost of childcare from the Child Care Subsidy in Australia. It is because the Australian Government believes that affordable and quality childcare should be provided for middle to low-income families.
However, only approved child care services are paid by the subsidy, including:
- In-home child care services
- Child care including vacation, before, and after outside school hours
- Occasional child care, facility-based daycare, and long day care services
- Family daycare services
The child care provided by relatives, standalone kindergarten or preschool, and registered is not covered by the Child Care Subsidy program. It’s best for families to ask their current childcare providers or to search for approved childcare services in their local area before applying for a CCS.
The things that are worked out with the Child Care Subsidy include:
- The approved child care currently used
- The age of the child
- The family’s overall income
- The amount of activities families are involved in including volunteer work, work, and more
- The hourly rate charged by the current child care facility
The child care providers are directly paid by the Child Care Subsidy. The extra financial assistance extended by the CCS helps to reduce the child care fees currently paid for by families. With the subsidy’s help, families only have to pay the difference that is not covered.
Disadvantaged children and families can avail of extra payments provided by the Child Care Safety Net. The website of the Department of Education, Skills, and Employment provide information on ways to avail of the extra payment program.
What is the amount of the subsidy?
The circumstances of the family determine the amount of the Child Care Subsidy. This includes:
- The family’s total combined income
- The total number of activity hours per week of each parent including job hunting, training, working, or volunteering
- The childcare service currently used including outside school hours care, occasional care, family day care, or long day care
85% of the actual charged fee is the subsidy provided for families showing total annual earnings of $70,015. A lower percentage of Child Care subsidies are provided for families with total annual earnings between $70,015 and $354,305. The type of childcare services determines the hourly cap.
Who are eligible for the Child Care Subsidy?
Families are eligible for Child Care Subsidy when:
- The residency requirements by one or both partners
- Fully-immunised child
- The child is under 13 or 13 and not enrolled in any secondary school
- If the fees of the childcare are paid by both partners or one partner
The ultimate goal of the CSC Australia is to ensure that every child in medium and low-income families gets an opportunity to quality education. It is because the importance of early childhood education cannot be stressed enough. Use the child subsidy calculator. This calculator works out your child care subsidy.