3. Child Care Payments
What is the Childcare Subsidy?
The Childcare Subsidy (CCS) commenced on 2nd July 2018 and replaced both the Child Care benefit (CCB) and Child Care Rebate (CCR).
The Government assists eligible families with their childcare fees by making a payment directly to the service (in the form of CCS) that is passed on as a fee reduction (visible on a family’s statement). Families are then required to pay the difference between the fee charged and the subsidy amount – the “GAP”.
Am I eligible for CCS?
The basic requirements that must be satisfied for an individual to be eligible to receive CCS for a child, include:
- The child must be 13 year old or younger and not attending secondary school
- The child must meet immunisation requirements
- The individual, or their partner, must meet the residency requirements
To determine the CCS percentage and number of eligible hours / fortnight you will be entitled to, Centrelink reviews and assesses:
- Family income
- Results of an Activity test – The combined hours of Approved Activity completed each fortnight (ie work, training, study, recognised voluntary work or other recognised activities)
The number of hours the family is entitled to is based on the individual with the lowest activity test results.
- Type of childcare service (OSHC), which determines the hourly rate cap
If you wish to estimate your CCS, please use the CCS Calculator
How do I apply for CCS?
- Make a claim – lodge a Child Care Subsidy Claim via the MyGov website
If you do not have a MyGov account, you can create one using https://my.gov.au/
If you don’t receive confirmation of your CCS Assessment, please contact Centrelink on 136150
How do I claim CCS through the Centre?
- Agree to the Complying Written Agreement – This is also known as enrolling at the Centre via the Portal. PLEASE NOTE: The Guardian on the enrolment MUST be the parent who has been assessed for CCS.
In order for Becklyn (administrators for the OSHC) to make a link with Centrelink, the following information must be provided as part of the enrolment (or shortly after):
- Guardian registered to receive CCS
- This person’s CRN
- This person’s DOB
- Each child’s CRN
- Each child’s DOB
- Becklyn (administrators for the OSHC) will submit a CCS Enrolment Notice to Centrelink, providing the above 5 pieces of information, along with the typical pattern of attendance, fees and session hours.
This will update your child’s CCS Enrolment status to one of the below:
Pending Eligibility
This usually means either:
- You have not completed the CCS application in its entirety, as yet OR
- You have completed the CCS application however Centrelink is still assessing this or it has been cancelled OR
- The CCS Application has been completed under a different name other than your name OR
- You may need to re-apply for CCS with Centrelink as it has been more than 6months since the last attendance. If this is the case, when you log into your MyGov account you should be able to “make a claim” to reapply
ACTION REQUIRED:
- Review and determine the reason for the CCS Status being Pending Eligibility and address this reason.
Received
This means the 5 pieces of information provided at enrolment time or the combinations do not match the Centrelink system.
ACTION REQUIRED:
- Review the 5 pieces of information provided and advise Becklyn of any updates
Pending Confirmation
Enrolment information has been sent to CCS and the 5 pieces of information supplied match the Centrelink system. There is now a requirement to confirm the CCS Enrolment
ACTION REQUIRED:
- Log into your MyGov account
- Select Centrelink
- Click on the Menu (3 bars top left of the screen)
- Expand Child Care
- Select Enrolments – check all your children have an enrolment status of Confirmed. Action any that don’t by clicking on “View Details”, checking the details and confirming these by selecting “Yes”, and “Next”, then accepting the declaration and submitting.
Centrelink will automatically advise CCS % reduction and number of fortnightly hours to the service administrators (+ withholding percentage)
What is a CRN?
A CRN is a ‘Customer Reference Number’ Centrelink uses to identify your personal record. A CRN is a 9 digit number and ends with a letter.
What is a ‘Received’ enrolment?
This means enrolment information has been sent to CCS however there is some information that is either missing or doesn’t match with Centrelink records. This is usually the CRN for the claiming parent or child / DOB.
What happens to my CCS if my child is absent?
If your child is absent, CCS is still payable but only for up to 42 absences for each child, per financial year. Please note: this number is not per claimant if you have a split family account.
In special circumstances, you may get CCS for more than 42 absence days, if supporting documents have been provided.
No CCS is payable however for any session of care that occurs:
– after the last day a child physically attended care, or
– before the first day a child physically attended care
Why is my child’s CCS enrolment ‘Ceased’?
When there has been no attendances for 14 Weeks, Centrelink will automatically update the Child’s CCS status to ‘Ceased’.
When Centrelink updates an enrolment to Ceased, they review the child’s submitted attendances/child’s last physical attendance at the service. Where CCS has been paid, Centrelink will automatically recover any CCS paid for absences after the child’s last attendance.
BECKLYN will send a new CCS enrolment to Centrelink, either the week prior to or the beginning of the week bookings recommence.
You will need to log into your MyGov account and confirm the new CCS Enrolment. This can be done by:
- Selecting Centrelink
- Clicking on the Menu (3 bars top left of the screen)
- Expanding Childcare Subsidy
- Clicking on Enrolments – Confirming each child’s CCS enrolment.