From 5 January 2026, Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander children can get 100 hours of subsidised child care per fortnight. Families will still pay an out-of-pocket cost to their child care service, depending on their Child Care Subsidy (CCS) percentage.
It’s voluntary to tell us if you care for an Aboriginal or Torres Strait Islander child. If you choose not to tell us, your CCS won’t change.
If you get 100 hours of CCS or if your family’s recognised participation types change, you should still tell us.
Families where all CCS eligible children have been identified as an Aboriginal or Torres Strait Islander child won’t need to provide recognised participation details.
For periods before 5 January 2026, Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander children could get at least 36 hours of subsidised child care each fortnight.
If your Centrelink online account is linked to myGov, sign in now if you’d like to update your details.
You can also tell us using either:
Find out more about what you can do using self service.
If you don’t have access to a self service option, please call the Centrelink families line. If you need an interpreter, let us know and we’ll arrange one for you.
If you’re an Aboriginal or Torres Strait Islander Australian, you can also call and speak to our Indigenous call centre for help.
The information you provide is used to work out how much CCS you can get and to help us to continue to improve services to Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples.
Contact numbers available on this page.
Centrelink families line
Use this line if you need help with family payments, such as Family Tax Benefit, Child Care Subsidy, Parental Leave Pay, Foster Child Health Care Card, Health Care Card or Pensioner Concession Card.
Centrelink Indigenous call centre
Use this line if you’re an Aboriginal or Torres Strait Islander Australian and need help with our payments and services.
There are other ways you may want to contact us.