Primary school levels for child care fee assistance

We need to know when your child starts primary school and secondary school. We may ask this when you claim child care fee assistance.

We’ll use this information to work out your rate of child care fee assistance.

We won’t pay child care fee assistance for any hours that your child is at school. But if your child is school aged, we’ll pay it for child care outside of school hours. Find out more about what happens when your child starts school.

What the primary school level in your state or territory is

The first year of recognised primary school depends on the state or territory you live in.

You can check with the Department Education within your State or Territory for your child’s first year of recognised primary or secondary school.

When your child attends secondary school

If your child attends secondary school, we may pay for child care outside of school hours. We’ll do this if they need supervision and are either:

  • 13 or under
  • 14 to 18 with disability.

In these circumstances, you must provide evidence as to why your child can't be unsupervised. This may include evidence of your child’s disability. You also need to confirm an adult is unable to care for your child during this time.

Page last updated: 18 December 2023.
QC 40326