Childcare Subsidy Calculator
From 10 July 2023, the Commonwealth Government Child Care Subsidy (CCS) is making high-quality early education and care more affordable for Australian families.
Our Childcare Subsidy Calculator helps you get an idea of your current Child Care Subsidy
payment amount from the Australian Government so you know your out-of-pocket
child care costs.
Keep in mind that the Calculator is only an estimation and the accuracy of the results
depend on the accuracy of your answers.
Similarly, it does not take into account certain situations, including:
- if you are repaying any money to Centrelink, or have had your payment reduced, or;
- the assets test, or;
- if you are paid under a Social Security Agreement, or;
- if you are overseas.
If you have any questions about the subsidy, calculator or our fees, please don’t
hesitate to contact us.
NO WARRANTY
This child care subsidy estimator (the Program) is distributed in the hope that it will be useful, but without any warranty. It is provided "As is" without warranty of any kind, either expressed or implied, including, but not limited to, the implied warranties of merchantability and fitness for a particular purpose. The entire risk as to the quality and performance of the Program is with you. Should the Program prove defective, you assume the cost of all necessary servicing, repair or correction.
In no event unless required by applicable law the author will be liable to you for damages, including any general, special, incidental or consequential damages arising out of the use or inability to use the Program (including but not limited to loss of data or data being rendered inaccurate or losses sustained by you or third parties or a failure of the Program to operate with any other programs), even if the author has been advised of the possibility of such damages.
Hours of Activity (per Fortnight)
The combined hours of work, training, study or other recognised activities undertaken per fortnight.
The hours of subsidised care the family is entitled to will be determined by the person with the lowest number of hours of activities per fortnight in the family.
Note: Parental or maternity leave (paid or unpaid) is counted as a recognised activity as long as you're expected to return to work after your leave ends. When including this as a recognised activity you should give Centrelink the hours you worked before you started your leave.
Family Adjusted Taxable Income (ATI)
For the purposes of Family Assistance, an individual's Adjusted Tax Income for a financial year is the sum of the following amounts for that year:
- taxable income
- the value of any adjusted fringe benefits
- target foreign income (including tax exempt foreign employment income)
- total net investment loss
- tax free pension or benefit
- reportable superannuation contributions
Then subtracting 100% of the individual's child maintenance expenditure.
Hourly Rate Caps
The hourly rate cap that applies to children attending Centre Based Day Care (CBDC) and Outside School Hours Care (OSHC) is determined by whether the child attends school.
The applicable hourly rate cap for children below school age attending CBDC or OSHC is the CBDC hourly rate cap ($12.31).
The applicable hourly rate cap for school aged children attending CBDC or OSHC is the outside school hours care hourly rate cap ($10.77),
The Family Day Care (FDC) hourly rate cap will apply to all children attending a family day care service, regardless of whether the child is school aged or not.
Centre Based Day Care
Centre Based Day Care includes Long Day Care and Occasional Care.
Centre Based Day Care is generally provided in a building or part of a building that has been created specifically for use as a child care centre.
Centres usually operate between 7:30 am and 6:00 pm on normal working days for a minimum of 48 weeks per year and offer professional care for children aged 0-6.
Children are usually grouped in rooms according to age and developmental stage.
Many centres offer meals throughout the day including morning tea, lunch and afternoon tea.
Centre Based Day Care Days
Centre Based Day Care includes Long Day Care and Occasional Care.
Centre Based Day Care is generally provided in a building or part of a building that has been created specifically for use as a child care centre.
Centres usually operate between 7:30 am and 6:00 pm on normal working days for a minimum of 48 weeks per year and offer professional care for children aged 0-6.
Children are usually grouped in rooms according to age and developmental stage.
Many centres offer meals throughout the day including morning tea, lunch and afternoon tea.
Centre Based Day Care Daily Hours
Centre Based Day Care includes Long Day Care and Occasional Care.
Centre Based Day Care is generally provided in a building or part of a building that has been created specifically for use as a child care centre.
Centres usually operate between 7:30 am and 6:00 pm on normal working days for a minimum of 48 weeks per year and offer professional care for children aged 0-6.
Children are usually grouped in rooms according to age and developmental stage.
Many centres offer meals throughout the day including morning tea, lunch and afternoon tea.
Centre Based Day Care Daily Fees
How much the child care provider charges you per day before deducting any Child Care Subsidy payments that are received from the government.
Note: This is the daily fee for Centre Based Day Care.
No. of Weeks in Centre Based Day Care Per Year
How many weeks a year that the child will be enrolled to the child care service, i.e how many weeks you will need to pay for the child care service.
If the child care service is closed during the Christmas and New Year period and does not charge you for that period the no. of weeks should be less than 52 (fifty-two) weeks.
EOY reconciliation
End-Of-Year reconciliation (also known as CCS balancing process) which is the process that occurs after the end of each financial year where Centrelink compares families' income estimates with their actual adjusted taxable income to ensure families receive their correct Child Care Subsidy (CCS) entitlement.
Out-of-pocket Child Care Cost
Out-of-pocket Child Care Cost = Child Care Fees - CCS Paid to Service Provider.
This is the gap (prior to the 5% CCS withholding being paid back to you) you need to cover until after the end-of-year reconciliation.
Child Care Subsidy Withholding
5% of your Child Care Subsidy entitlement will be withheld until the end-of-year reconciliation. This balance will be paid back to families in their tax return if they are eligible.
CCS Entitlement
Your Child Care Subsidy entitlement, i.e. how much subsidy you are entitled to claim from the government.
An individual's actual CCS entitlement for a financial year will be worked out at reconciliation, usually after the individual has completed their tax return and they (and their partner's if they have one) actual ATI (Adjusted taxable income) is known. As an individual's actual ATI is not known during the year, determinations of CCS entitlement are calculated according to the individual's estimate of what their combined ATI will be for the financial year.
Any difference between the amount of CCS an individual was paid during the year based on their estimated ATI and their actual CCS entitlement based on their actual ATI will be corrected at reconciliation (i.e. debt raised if they were overpaid, and a lump sum payment made if they were paid less than they were actually entitled to).
CCS Paid to Service Provider
The amount of subsidy paid to the service provider is equal to the total CCS entitlement minus the CCS withholding.