Examples to help you understand your Child Care Subsidy

We understand everyone’s circumstances are different. We’ve provided some examples to help explain how we work out Child Care Subsidy (CCS).

We work out your CCS rate using your family income and the number of children in your care.

If you have more than one child aged 5 years or younger, we’ll assess which children get the standard rate or a higher rate of subsidy.

Standard rate of CCS examples

We’ve created some examples to help you understand the standard rate.

Families getting the maximum CCS rate for one child

Charlotte has one child, Flynn aged 8 who attends Outside of School Hours (OSHC) at their local child care 3 days a week. Charlotte’s family income estimate is $75,000 for the year.

Flynn will get the maximum standard CCS rate of 90%. This is because they’re the only CCS eligible child in care and the family income is under $83,280.

Families getting below the maximum rate for one child

Richard has one child, Havier aged 3 who attends Centre Based Day Care at their local child care. Richard has a family income estimate of $130,000 a year.

The maximum standard CCS rate of 90% goes down by 1% for every $5,000 of income Richard earns above $83,280. Richard will get a standard CCS rate of 90% for Havier as they are the only CCS eligible child.

Families with multiple children with a higher income

Tony and Viv have three children, Gabi, Adam and Joel. Gabi, aged 7, attends after school care. Adam aged 4 and Joel aged 2 both attend Centre Based Day Care at their local child care. Tony and Viv have a combined family income of $400,000 a year.

The family’s annual income is over the $365,611 higher rate of CCS income limit. This means they’re not entitled to a higher rate of CCS for any of their children.

Based on their family income, they’ll get a standard CCS rate of 26.66% for each child.

Families with one or more children younger than 5 and one older than 5

Andy and Chris have two children, Sienna and Jules. Andy and Chris have a combined income of $95,000 a year.

Sienna attends Outside School Hours Care (OSHC) at their local child care. Jules goes to family day care. Sienna is 6 years old and Jules is 3 years old. Andy and Chris do not qualify for a higher rate of CCS because they do not have two children aged younger than 5 attending child care.

Based on their family income, Andy and Chris will get a standard CCS rate of 87.66% for both Sienna and Jules.

Higher rate of CCS examples

We’ve created some examples to help you understand the higher rate.

Families with one or more children aged 5 or younger and attending care

Carmel and Ali have two children aged 5 or younger, Mauve and Xena, both attending Centre Based Day Care at their local centre. Carmel and Ali have a combined family income estimate of $70,000 a year.

Mauve is aged 5 and considered a ‘standard rate child’. Xena is aged 2 and considered a ‘higher rate child’. The family is eligible for a higher rate of CCS because both apply:

• they have 2 children aged 5 or under attending child care
• their combined family income is under the $365,611 higher rate of CCS income limit.

The family will get a standard CCS rate of 90% for Mauve and a higher CCS rate of 95% for Xena.

Families with children from a multiple birth

Gus and Louise have 3 year old twins, Jack and Maggie, who attend child care. Gus and Louise have a combined income of $182,300 a year.

For Jack, they will get a standard CCS rate of 70.20%. For Maggie, they will get a higher CCS rate of 81.34%.

We automatically determined Jack as the ‘standard rate child’ and Maggie as the ‘higher rate child’.

It doesn’t matter that Jack and Maggie are twins born on the same day. They meet all of the other criteria for a higher rate of CCS. We’ll determine one child as the ‘standard rate child’ when working out who is assessed as the higher rate of CCS. We can change the ordering of children born on the same day, if required. You should contact the Centrelink families line to request this.

Families with a child turning 6 years old

Sonam and Dechen have two children, Oliver and Ava, who attend their local child care. Sonam and Dechen have a combined family income of $130,000.

Oliver goes to Outside School Hours Care (OSHC) and Ava goes to Centre Based Day Care.

Oliver is 5 years old and considered the ‘standard rate child’ because they’re the eldest child. Ava is 2 years old and is considered the ‘higher rate child’ because they’re the youngest child.

Based on their family income, Sonam and Dechen will get a standard CCS rate of 80% for Oliver and a higher CCS rate of 95% for Ava.

After Oliver turns 6, the family will no longer get a higher subsidy for Ava. This is because the family will no longer have two children under 5. They will get a standard CCS rate of 80% for each of their children.

Combined families with children from a current and previous relationship

Rani and Tavish are in a combined family where they each have children from previous relationships. Rani has two children, Lila and Nathan. Tavish has one child, Kiara.

Rani and Tavish have a combined family income of $120,000. We’ll automatically assess Rani and Tavish as a combined family.

Lila is 5 years old and is considered the ‘standard rate child’ because they’re the eldest child in the family. Nathan and Kiara are both 3 years old and are considered the ‘higher rate children’ because they’re younger than Lila.

Based on the family income they’ll get a standard CCS rate of 82.66% for Lila and a higher CCS rate of 95% for Nathan and Kiara.