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The government Child Care Subsidy (CCS) aims to make early learning more affordable; however, we understand it’s not always easy to navigate. We are here to help.

Our ultimate purpose is to ensure our families have all the tools and information at their disposal to feel confident in their children’s journey in early childhood education. Check out our easy explainer video to assist in understanding the CCS. It’ll take you through everything you need to know to get started.

The Child Care Subsidy: Explained by our Greenwood team

Our team is always available to assist. Read further for more information or contact us anytime to chat more. We look forward to welcome you in centre!

Am I eligible?

You may be eligible for the Child Care Subsidy if you meet a number of factors. Check out our video for the full explainer.

What if I have more than one child in care?

Families with more than one child in care may be eligible for a higher subsidy for their second child and younger children if they:

• earn less than $354,305
• have more than one child aged 5 or under in child care.

The standard rate child is usually the eldest CCS-eligible child, while younger children may be eligible for a 30% higher subsidy, up to a maximum 95%.

Families will continue to receive their income tested CCS rate for all children. Children eligible for the higher rate will have the increase automatically included in their CCS percentage reported to Services Australia.

For more information please visit the Services Australia website.

Types of approved activity, Government activity test

How much you can expect to get covered, on average
Subsidy by combined annual income

To read more about combined annual income and the annual cap, click here for further information from education.gov.au.

Preschool Exemption Program

If your child is currently enrolled in our Government Approved Preschool or Kindergarten programs, this comes with a CCS exemption that is available for preschool-aged children, whose subsidy is less than 24 hours per fortnight. You can access 36 hours of subsidised care per fortnight if you:

• Would usually be entitled to less than 36 hours of subsidised child care per fortnight because you do not meet the activity test; and
• Have a preschool-aged child attending an early education program at a centre-based day care service.

A preschool-aged child is one who is in the year before primary school e.g. if a child is starting school in February 2021, the child is deemed preschool-aged from February 2020.

The Additional Child Care Subsidy

Check out the best ways of making the subsidy work for your family; from our Flexible Hours offering to the Additional Child Care Subsidy and Preschool Exemption Program. These are all great ways of making child care more affordable.

Please note that the Additional Child Care Subsidy is a top up payment in addition to the Child Care Subsidy which will provide targeted additional fee assistance to families and children who need extra support.

The Additional Child Care Subsidy has four elements:

• Child wellbeing
• Grandparents
• Temporary financial hardship
• Transition to work.

Find out more about the Additional Child Care Subsidy here.

Still need help?

Rest assured that our team is always available to assist. Feel free to contact us anytime to chat more, and we look forward to welcoming you in centre.

Disclaimer

The subsidy you will receive and any applicable cap will depend upon your own personal circumstances and is subject to your combined family income, hours of recognised activity and child care details. Even if you are currently receiving the Child Care Benefit or Child Care Rebate, you will need to update your details through your Centrelink account on MyGov. For more information visit The Department of Education’s website.