This Child Care Subsidy Calculator (CCS Calculator) is developed for Australian parents to estimate their possible Child Care Subsidy payment amount from the Australian Government and out-of-pocket child care costs when using Centre Based Day Care, Family Day Care or Outside School Hours Care. For In Home Care Child Care Subsidy estimation please use the In Home Care Child Care Subsidy Calculator.
Aiming to help parents understand some very important questions about the new Child Care Subsidy such as "How much childcare subsidy do I get" and "How is child care subsidy calculated", this CCS Calculator is based on the publicly available guidelines and publications about Child Care Subsidy that can be found in the Child Care Subsidy Guide by the Department of Education and Training, Australian Government. The Child Care Subsidy rates that take effect on 8 July 2024 for Financial Year 2025 (FY25) are being used. However, the results from this childcare subsidy calculator are only indicative and informative. The estimation of your childcare subsidy will be based on the information you provide. If any information provided is inaccurate, the estimation could be incorrect.
This Calculator could generate inaccurate results in particular cases, for example, the Calculator does not take into account:
The Child Care Subsidy commenced in July 2018 to replace the Child Care Benefit (CCB) and Child Care Rebate (CCR) with a single, means-tested subsidy. From 7 March 2022, families with more than one child aged 5 or under in care will get a higher subsidy for their second child and younger children. Click here to learn more about the Higher Child Care Subsidy change.
If you don't know how to claim Child Care Subsidy, please refer to the link below:
Child Care Subsidy - How to claim - Australian Government Department of Human Services
Please Note: 5 per cent (5%) of your weekly Child Care Subsidy entitlement will be withheld unitl the end-of-year reconciliation after the end of each financial year. You're able to vary this amount to suit your circumstances. You can do this up to twice a year using your Centrelink online account through myGov. If you’d like to change it more than this, you’ll need to call the Families line.
Help: Click on the "" icon to show explanation of each field. PLEASE NOTE: We are NOT affiliated with Centrelink! If you have any questions regarding your Child Care Subsidy Assessment, please phone Centrelink on 136 150 (8am – 8pm, Monday to Friday). The Family Assistance Guide (Version 1.255 - Released 6 May 2024) is the official reference if you want to learn more about the calculation of CCS Entitlement.
Privacy: Neither the details entered nor the final results are stored in any system so you may want to print it and have a copy of the results.
Note: Even if you DON'T meet the Child Care Subsidy Activity Test Requirements, you may still be able to access subsidised child care according to Department of Human Services:
If you know that your child is eligible for the Higher CCS and want to estimate the CCS for that one child only (not multiple children) you can use the Simple Child Care Subsidy Calculator. Otherwise please continue with the CCS calculator below.
This Child Care Subsidy Calculator allows you to estimate your child care subsidy for up to 10 children in 3 simple steps:
In case you wonder how the CCS is calculated please read through the CCS calculation steps listed below. In Step 4.4 to Step 4.9 calculations for both standard CCS and higher CCS will be shown. If your child is attending more than one type of care this will be accurate only if you estimate one type of care at a time. Some calculations might be a bit off due to rounding numbers to two decimals.
Please note that until you enter your actual information into the CCS Calculator, the below calculations are based off the assumptions that your hours of recognised activities per fortnight are more than 48 hours and your standard CCS rate is 55%, with the daily fee being $180 and the session hours being 10 hours. Any actual information that you enter into the CCS Calculator will replace the relevant information in the above mentioned assumptions. Once you enter all the needed actual information into the CCS Calculator, the below calculations will be based on your actual information.
In your case since the hours of recognised activities per fortnight are more than 48 hours, the maximum CCS hours per fortnight will be 100 hours. This means you are eligible for up to 100 hours of subsidy per fortnight (up to 50 hours per week).
In your case you pay a daily fee of $180 for a 10 hours session so the hourly fee is the daily fee ÷ the session hours: $180 ÷ 10 = $18.
In your case the hourly CCS rate cap is $14.29 which is lower than the hourly fee $18. This mean the CCS will be calculated based on the hourly CCS rate cap $14.29 instead of the hourly fee $18.
In your case since your CCS rate is 55% the hourly CCS amount will be the lower of the hourly fee and the hourly rate cap × the CCS rate: $14.29 × 55% = $7.86.
If you are eligible for higher CCS, your CCS rate will be 80% and the hourly CCS amount will be $14.29 × 80% = $11.43.
In your case you can get 50 hours of subsidy per week so your weekly CCS entitlement is the hourly CCS amount × the hours of subsidy per week: $7.86 × 50 = $393.00.
If you are eligible for higher CCS, the weekly CCS entitlement will be $11.43 × 50 = $571.50.
In your case the withholding percentage is 5% so the weekly withholding amount is the weekly CCS amount × the withholding percentage: $393.00 × 5% = $19.65.
If you are eligible for higher CCS, the weekly withholding amount will be $571.50 × 5% = $28.58.
In your case the weekly CCS paid to the service provider is the weekly CCS amount − the weekly withholding amount: $393.00 − $19.65 = $373.35.
If you are eligible for higher CCS, the weekly CCS paid to the service provider will be $571.50 − $28.58 = $542.93.
In your case the weekly out-of-pocket child care cost (gap fee) is the daily fee × the days enrolled per week − the weekly CCS paid to the service provider: $180 × 5 − $373.35 = $526.65.
If you are eligible for higher CCS, the weekly out-of-pocket child care cost (gap fee) will be $180 × 5 − $542.93 = $357.08.
In your case once you get the withholding amount back after the end of year (EOY) reconciliation the weekly child care cost will be the weekly out-of-pocket cost − the weekly withholding amount: $526.65 − $19.65 = $507.00.
If you are eligible for higher CCS, the weekly child care cost will be $357.08 − $28.58 = $328.50.
Is it a good child care centre? All parents will ask the same question when they choose a child care centre for their child. Many of parents do not know that there is an official quality rating for each child care centre operating under the National Quality Framework (NQF). The rating is National Quality Standard (NQS) rating. If you want to learn more about the NQS quality rating, please click the Child Care Centres NQS Quality Rating link.
Please follow the steps below to check the quality rating of any child care centre.
You can compare centres by checking their quality ratings one by one. The results will appear in the same table.
The section below shows how much CCS you can get if you are eligible for Additional Child Care Subsidy (ACCS). The ACCS provides assistance in the following circumstances:
Families eligible for ACCS (Child Wellbeing), ACCS (Grandparent) or ACCS (Temporary Financial Hardship) will receive a subsidy equal to the actual fee charged, up to 120 per cent of the CCS hourly rate cap. Those families will not be subject to the activity test, and will be entitled to up to 100 hours of care per child, per fortnight.
ACCS (Transition to Work) is available for parents transitioning to work from income support. Eligible families will receive a subsidy of 95 per cent of the actual fee charged or up to 95 percent of the CCS hourly rate cap, whichever is lower. Hours of subsidised care will be determined by the Child Care Subsidy Activity Test.
The five per cent (5%) mandatory withholding of Child Care Subsidy entitlement will not apply to ACCS payments and neither will the annual cap.
Note: You can only get 1 type of Additional Child Care Subsidy at a time. If you meet the criteria for more than 1 type, you will be paid the one that benefits you the most. For more information please refer to Additional Child Care Subsidy from Australian Government agency of Services Australia. Children who are entitled to both the higher CCS rate and Additional Child Care Subsidy (ACCS) will be paid the ACCS rate.
| Weekly Summary | ACCS (Child Wellbeing, Grandparent, Temporary Financial Hardship) | ACCS (Transition to Work) |
|---|---|---|
| Child Care Fees | $0.00 | $0.00 |
| Child Care Subsidy | $0.00 | $0.00 |
| Child Care Subsidy Withholding | $0.00 | $0.00 |
| Child Care Subsidy Paid to Service Provider | $0.00 | $0.00 |
| Out-of-pocket Child Care Cost | $0.00 | $0.00 |
A family can get higher child care subsidy if they:
The Australian Government increases the subsidy (capped at 95%) for a family's second child and subsequent children aged under 6 in care. The standard rate child will get the standard CCS rate. This is usually the eldest CCS-eligible child aged 5 or under in the family. Younger children will get the higher subsidy.
Note: The increased subsidy will not apply to In Home Care sessions as IHC is subsidised on a family rather than per child basis. However, children aged 5 or under in IHC are included in the family unit when determining the standard rate child. A family with their standard rate child in IHC will get the higher subsidy for younger children who attend other care types.
The table below is a summary of the Standard CCS from July 2024.
| Combined Family Adjusted Taxable Income (ATI) | Standard CCS |
|---|---|
| Up to $83,280 | 90% |
| More than $83,280 to below $533,280 |
Decreasing from 90% The percentage decreases by 1% for every $5,000 of income a family earns |
| $533,280 or more | 0% |
The table below is a summary of the Higher CCS from July 2024.
| Combined Family Adjusted Taxable Income (ATI) | Higher CCS |
|---|---|
| $0 to $141,321 | 95% |
| More than $141,321 to below $186,321 |
Decreasing from 95% The percentage decreases by 1% for every $3,000 of income a family earns |
| $186,321 to below $265,611 | 80% |
| $265,611 to below $355,611 |
Decreasing from 80% The percentage decreases by 1% for every $3,000 of income a family earns |
| $355,611 to below $365,611 | 50% |
| $365,611 or more | Higher CCS rates no longer apply, all children in the family will receive the standard CCS rate |
As you may know that the Government generally calculates your CCS at the start of a CCS fortnight (A CCS fortnight is a 2-week period that starts every second Monday, for example, the first CCS fortnight for the 2024–25 financial year started on Monday 8 July 2024). The CCS amount continues for the whole fortnight regardless of any change of circumstance. This means that if your eldest eligible child turns 6 partway through a CCS fortnight, your younger children will keep the higher subsidy for the whole CCS fortnight.
If you want to learn more about the Higher Child Care Subsidy, you can visit the Higher Child Care Subsidy information page.
The amount of CCS a family can get depends on the type of care they use. A family's CCS percentage will apply to the lowest of either:
The table below shows the CCS hourly rate caps from July 2024 set by the Australian Government that are being used in this Child Care Subsidy calculator.
| Service type | Maximum hourly fee cap (children below school age) | Maximum hourly fee cap (school aged children) |
|---|---|---|
| Centre Based Day Care (Long Day Care and Occasional Care) | $14.29 | $12.51 |
| Outside School Hours Care (Before, After, and Vacation care) | $14.29 | $12.51 |
| Family Day Care | $13.24 | |
| In Home Care | $38.87 (per family) | |
The Australian Government does not set early childhood education and care fees or require services to charge on an hourly basis. The hourly rate caps above are a guide for providers and families about what a "high fee" might be.
If you want to learn more about the Child Care Subsidy Hourly Fee Caps, you can visit the CCS Family Eligibility and Entitlement information page.