Simple Child Care Subsidy Calculator

This simple version of the Child Care Subsidy Calculator (CCS Calculator) is developed for parents who know if their child is eligible for the Higher CCS or not and want to estimate the CCS for that one child only (not multiple children).

This Child Care Subsidy Calculator allows you to estimate your child care subsidy for one child in 3 simple steps:

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AU$
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Need help? Please check out the examples:
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Early Learning Centre


Example:

Your child (below school age) is attending an Early Learning Centre (ELC). The hours for the Early Learning Centre are 8.10am-3.10pm at $120, with After School Care at $20 from 3.10pm to 6pm. The Centre also runs Vacation Care during the School Holidays that runs from 8am-6pm for $100 per day.

Your child is enrolled in the ELC care and After School Care 5 days per week for 40 weeks per year. In addition your child is enrolled in Vacation Care 5 days per week for 10 weeks per year in the same centre.

How to Fill in the Information:

The days per week are all same across different care types so you only need to convert the daily fees and daily hours to the average over 50 weeks.

The ELC part is simple as it is Centre Based Day Care:

    The Daily Hours = (7 hrs X 40 weeks) / 50 weeks = 5.6 hrs per day

    The Daily Fees = ($120 X 40 weeks) / 50 weeks = $96 per day

The tricky part is the after school care and Vacation Care as both are Outside School Hours Care:

    The Daily Hours = (3 hrs X 40 weeks + 10 hrs X 10 weeks) / 50 weeks = 4.4 hrs per day

    The Daily Fees = ($20 X 40 weeks + $100 X 10 weeks) / 50 weeks = $36 per day

Now you need to choose "No" for the "Is this child attending school?" question.

Then you enter your numbers into the calculator as shown below:

Per Week
Hours
$
Weeks
Per Week
Hours
$
Weeks
Still have questions on how to use this Calculator, please Contact CCSC and we will get back to you in one hour.
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Long Day Care + Family Day Care


Example:

Your child (below school age) is enrolled at two child care centres:

    (1) at a Centre Based Day Care 3 days (10 hours per day) per week at $120 per day for 50 weeks per year;

    (2) and at a Family Day Care 2 days (10 hours per day) per week at $110 per day for 50 weeks per year.

How to Fill in the Information:

For the Centre Based Day Care:

    The Days = 3 days per week

    The Daily Hours = 10 hrs per day

    The Daily Fees = $120 per day

For the Family Day Care:

    The Days = 2 days per week

    The Daily Hours = 10 hrs per day

    The Daily Fees = $110 per day

Now you need to choose "No" for the "Is this child attending school?" question.

Then you enter your numbers into the calculator as shown below:

Per Week
Hours
$
Weeks
Per Week
Hours
$
Weeks
Still have questions on how to use this Calculator, please Contact CCSC and we will get back to you in one hour.
×

After School Care + Vacation Care


Example:

Your school aged child is enrolled in both After School Care and Vacation Care (both are Outside School Hours Care):

    (1) in the After School Care 4 days (3 hours per day) per week at $30 per day for 40 weeks per year;

    (2) and in the Vacation Care 5 days (10 hours per day) per week at $90 per day for 10 weeks per year.

How to Fill in the Information:

For the After School Care, you need to convert the numbers to 5 days per week (same as the Vacation Care):

    The Days = 5 days per week

    The Daily Hours = (3 hrs X 4 days) / 5 days = 2.4 hrs per day

    The Daily Fees = ($30 X 4 days) / 5 days = $24 per day

    Weeks per Year = 40 weeks

For the Vacation Care, you need to convert the numbers to 40 weeks (same as the After School Care):

    The Days = 5 days per week

    The Daily Hours = (10 hrs X 10 weeks) / 40 weeks = 2.5 hrs per day

    The Daily Fees = ($90 X 10 weeks) / 40 weeks = $22.5 per day

    Weeks per Year = 40 weeks

Now you need to choose "Yes" for the "Is this child attending school?" question.

Then you enter your numbers into the calculator as shown below:

    The Days = 5 days

    The Daily Hours = 2.4 hrs per day + 2.5 hrs per day = 4.9 hrs per day

    The Daily Fees = $24 per day + $22.5 per day = $46.5 per day

    Weeks per Year = 40 weeks

Make sure you change the Centre Based Day Care Daily Hours & Family Day Care Daily Hours to 0!

Per Week
Hours
$
Weeks
Still have questions on how to use this Calculator, please Contact CCSC and we will get back to you in one hour.
Step 3.1 - Fill in details for child 1
What type of childcare(s) does this child attend?
Centre Based Day Care
Per Week
Hours
$
Weeks
Child 1 Summary [Standard CCS Rate 95.00%] Weekly Average Quarterly Average Yearly
Child Care Fees $0.00 $0.00 $0.00
Child Care Subsidy $0.00 $0.00 $0.00
Child Care Subsidy Withholding $0.00 $0.00 $0.00
Child Care Subsidy Paid to Service Provider $0.00 $0.00 $0.00
Out-of-pocket Child Care Cost $0.00 $0.00 $0.00
Child Care Cost after EOY Reconciliation $0.00 $0.00 $0.00

Calculation

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.

Step 4.1 - Work out the CCS hours per fortnight

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).

Step 4.2 - Work out the hourly fee

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.

Step 4.3 - Work out the lower of the hourly fee and the hourly CCS rate cap

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.

Step 4.4 - Work out the hourly CCS amount

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% = $7.55.

If you are eligible for higher CCS, your CCS rate will be 80% and the hourly CCS amount will be $14.29 × 80% = $10.98.

Step 4.5 - Work out the weekly CCS amount

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: $7.55 × 50 = $377.58.

If you are eligible for higher CCS, the weekly CCS entitlement will be $10.98 × 50 = $549.20.

Step 4.6 - Work out the weekly withholding amount

In your case the withholding percentage is 5% so the weekly withholding amount is the weekly CCS amount × the withholding percentage: $377.58 × 5% = $18.88.

If you are eligible for higher CCS, the weekly withholding amount will be $549.20 × 5% = $27.46.

Step 4.7 - Work out the weekly CCS paid to the service provider

In your case the weekly CCS paid to the service provider is the weekly CCS amount − the weekly withholding amount: $377.58 − $18.88 = $358.70.

If you are eligible for higher CCS, the weekly CCS paid to the service provider will be $549.20 − $27.46 = $521.74.

Step 4.8 - Work out the weekly out-of-pocket cost (also known as the gap fee)

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 − $358.70 = $541.30.

If you are eligible for higher CCS, the weekly out-of-pocket child care cost (gap fee) will be $180 × 5 − $521.74 = $378.26.

Step 4.9 - Work out the weekly cost after EOY reconciliation

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: $541.30 − $18.88 = $522.43.

If you are eligible for higher CCS, the weekly child care cost will be $378.26 − $27.46 = $350.80.

Higher Child Care Subsidy

A family can get higher child care subsidy if they:

  • earn less than $365,611 (2024–25), and
  • have more than one child aged under 6 in care.

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.

If you want to learn more about the Higher Child Care Subsidy, you can visit the Higher Child Care Subsidy information page.