Your number of children in care can affect it

If you have more than one child aged 5 or younger in care, you may get a higher Child Care Subsidy (CCS). This may apply for one or more of your children.

Watch this video to learn more about a higher rate of CCS.

Who can get a higher subsidy

You can get a higher subsidy if all of these apply:

• you get or will be eligible for CCS
• your family’s combined income is under $354,305
• you have more than one CCS eligible child aged 5, or younger
• your higher rate child or children are using child care.

If you have more than one child aged 5 or under we’ll assess which children get a higher subsidy by working out both:

• the ‘standard rate child’
• the ‘higher rate child’ or the ‘higher rate children’.

The ‘standard rate child’ is usually your eldest CCS eligible child aged 5 or under. You can check the current standard CCS percentages based on family income.

The ‘higher rate child’ refers to your second or younger children. You’ll get a higher subsidy rate for them.

For children born on the same date, such as twins, we’ll automatically determine one child as the ‘standard rate child’. We’ll then apply a higher rate to other eligible children.

We won’t pay a higher subsidy for sessions of In Home Care (IHC). This is because IHC is subsidised for the family, rather than for each child. IHC will continue to be paid the standard CCS rate.

You’ll continue to get the standard rate of CCS if these apply:

• you have children aged 6 and above
• you have one child aged 5 or under.

A higher subsidy rate only applies if you have more than one eligible child aged 5 or under.

If your child doesn’t use child care

If your child hasn’t used child care at least once in the previous 26 weeks, they will stop being eligible for CCS.

We’ll reassess your family if one or more of your children stop using child care. We’ll check to see if any other children still using child care can get a higher CCS rate.

If you decide not to use child care you can contact us to end your child’s CCS eligibility.

If your child starts to attend care again you’ll need to submit a new claim for CCS for that child.

How to check your CCS percentage

You can check your CCS percentage in your Centrelink online account through myGov. To do this:

• select the MENU
• select My family
• from this menu select Child Care
• select Child Care Subsidy summary.

How much will I get?

You can get a higher subsidy for your ‘higher rate child’. This is a higher rate than your standard CCS percentage.

We’ll calculate your CCS for your standard rate and higher rate children using your income estimate. The most you can get for your higher rate child is 95%.

You can check the current standard CCS percentages based on family income.

Find more detailed examples of how a higher subsidy works in different circumstances in our case studies.

Combined families

Combined families are where both members of the couple get CCS for different children in their family.

Your combined family will be assessed as a whole for higher CCS. We’ll pay a higher subsidy for any extra eligible children, including those who have been claimed for by the other parent or carer.

What you need to do

We’ll automatically work out if you’re eligible. If you are, we’ll apply a higher subsidy to any eligible children in your family and start paying it to your child care service to reduce your fees.

What you need to know from July

From 10 July 2023, families with a combined income estimate below $362,408 and more than one child aged 5 or under, can still get a higher rate for one or more of your children.

For your:

• ‘standard rate child’, we’ll work out this rate with the changes from 10 July 2023
• ‘higher rate child’, you’ll continue to get a higher rate of CCS. We’ll work out the higher rate for your second and younger children using a separate income test.

If you have more than one child aged 5 or under and your combined income estimate is above $362,408, you’ll get the standard CCS rate for all of your children. We’ll apply the changes to your CCS rate automatically from 10 July 2023.