New to Child Care?
New to Child Care?
Did you know that the Australian Government’s Child Care Subsidy (CCS) reduces the cost of childcare considerably?
Smiling Children Early Learning Centre is a CCS-approved childcare service, meaning a part of your out-of-pocket expenses will be paid by the Government.
To be eligible for the CCS
the community.
- You must care for a child who is 13 or younger
- who is not attending secondary school,
- use an approved childcare service like Smiling Children ELC,
- be responsible for paying the childcare fees, and
- meet residency and immunisation requirements.
The amount of subsidy you will receive depends on your circumstances, and you must make a co-contribution by paying the gap fee.
The eligibility of a family to receive entitlements is dependent upon three criteria:
- The family’s combined annual income
- Activity level
- Type of childcare used.
An annual cap of $10,655 is applied to your first child for families earning between $190,015 and $354,305. Be aware that five per cent of the subsidy is withheld to reduce overpayments.
It’s possible to obtain an estimate of the childcare subsidy by completing the Centrelink payment and service finder (see Useful Information box).
The Australian Government will increase the subsidy (from July 2022) for families with multiple children and removing the $10,655 per child annual cap for all families.
The CCS will increase by 30% (capped at 95%) for more than one child in care if your family earns less than $353,680 per year.
CCS application
You should apply before your child’s start date using the MyGov website. Our team will apply when your child is enrolled with Smiling Children ELC and will be able to give more information about your entitlements.
Below is how to apply for the CCS:
- Gather supporting documents, including proof of identity, payslips, birth certificate, and medical records. You can get a complete list of documentation required at each website you visit.
- If you don’t have one already, then set up a MyGov account and ensure you have a customer reference number
- Create your Centrelink account through MyGov
- Submit the supporting documents required by Centrelink online account or the express plus Centrelink mobile app. It’s possible to mail, fax, or visit a service centre.
- Lodge your application via MyGov.
- Supply Smiling Children with your Family and Child’s Customer Reference Numbers (CRN’S)
- Once this is lodged, Smiling Children ELC, as your childcare provider, will provide your enrolment details to finalise the application.
- You will be notified about your CCS entitlements.
At the end of each financial year, there must be a reconciliation of CCS payments to ensure that you have received the correct CCS payments. The process involves estimating your income at the beginning of the year and compare it to your actual income at the end of the financial year.
Please confirm your income within twelve months of the end of the financial year. Otherwise, you will lose all of your entitlements and be liable for the total childcare fees.
Failure to confirm your income after twenty-four months may mean repaying all the CCS for that year.
Useful Links to Government Information:
