To add your child for Centrelink's Child Care Subsidy (CCS), sign in to your linked myGov account, go to the "My family" section, and select "Child care" to either confirm an existing enrolment or start a new claim if they're a new child for CCS, ensuring their details and your income/activity information are updated for assessment. You'll need your child's Customer Reference Number (CRN) and your approved childcare provider will submit enrolment info before you confirm.
Ask your provider to submit your child's enrolment. You'll then need to check the details and confirm them. You can do this through your Centrelink online account. If you don't agree with the decision we've made about your claim call the Centrelink families line.
Sign in to myGov. Select Add Newborn. Answer all the questions and attach a scan or photo of your proof of birth or adoption. Proof of birth is the signed Doctor/Midwife - Proof of Birth Declaration.
If you get CCS, Family Tax Benefit, or Parental Leave Pay for your child, they'll have a CRN. You can find your child's CRN in your Centrelink online account.
Centrelink Families Line - 136 150 - provides help with Centrelink family payments, including the CCS.
Applying for the Childcare Subsidy
Sign in to myGov. Select Child Care from the My family menu option. Select Enrolments and find the relevant enrolment details.
If the family member has elected to receive their updates online, the letter will be sent to their MyGov inbox telling them if they are eligible and if so, informing them of the level of child care fee assistance they will receive.
To be eligible for Child Care Subsidy, you or your partner must meet residency requirements, which generally include being an Australian citizen or a permanent resident. If you're not a permanent resident of Australia, you may still be eligible for CCS if you meet specific residency conditions.
After you have completed all of the above steps in MyGov, it will take about two weeks for the system to produce your eligible subsidy level. In the meantime you may wish to get a quick estimate using our CCS calculator.
Add A Child To An Existing Account
Log in to your existing activated ParentPay Parent account. Either: On a mobile device select the menu icon from the top left of the page then select Add a child. On a computer select the Add a child icon from the top left of the home page or from the left-hand menu.
$222.04 for a child 0 to 12 years. $288.82 for a child 13 to 15 years. $288.82 for a child 16 to 19 years who meets the study requirements $71.26 for a child 0 to 19 years in an approved care organisation.
The Australian $5,000 Baby Bonus ended on March 1, 2014, when it was abolished and replaced with changes to Family Tax Benefit (FTB) for eligible families, although it was reduced to $3,000 for subsequent children in July 2013 before being removed entirely. This meant that babies born on or after March 1, 2014, no longer qualified for the payment.
How to link Child Support to your myGov account
However, you still need to tell Centrelink that your child has started school as they won't automatically know this. You can do this in mygov. Click on the Menu button in the top left corner. Go to Child Care Subsidy – View/Update Child Education Details.
You can check or update your income estimate at any time using: • your Centrelink online account through my.gov.au • the Express Plus Centrelink mobile app • the myGov app. From 10 July 2023 the income limit for CCS is increasing to $530,000.
The Child Care Subsidy is paid directly to your early childhood education and care service to reduce the fees you pay. The amount depends on: how much work or recognised activity you and your partner do each fortnight. your combined family income.
Enrol when you claim a Centrelink payment
Use your Newborn Child Declaration form when you claim the Centrelink payment. Make sure the proof of birth on the back page is complete. The form is in the Parent Pack your hospital gives you when your baby was born.
The enrolment process
The financial year runs from 1 July to 30 June. We balance CCS payments from mid-August. We need all of the following to balance your CCS: your child's attendance information, which we'll get from your child care service.
CCS Calculator Overview
The subsidy amount is calculated based on the type of child care service used, the family's combined household income, and the amount of 'Activity Hours' (work, study, etc.) conducted by the family. Annual caps on the subsidy amount vary depending on the family's income.
From 1 January 2013, transitional arrangements were abolished, and all parents could only receive PP until their youngest child turned 6 years (PPP), or 8 years (PPS). From 20 September 2023, the age of the youngest child to qualify for PPS was changed from under 8 years to under 14 years.
If a child's parents are separated, and both individuals (or their new partners) are liable for part of the cost of the child's child care fees, each individual will need to make their own claim for Child Care Subsidy to Centrelink.
Receive your CCS assessment notice
So how long does child care subsidy take to process? Once you've submitted your CCS claim, it will be assessed within 28 days. You'll then be provided with an assessment notice detailing the outcome of your claim.
No, a father generally cannot simply refuse to pay child support in Australia; it's a legal obligation, and failing to pay leads to serious enforcement actions like wage deductions, tax refund intercepts, asset seizure, or even travel bans by Services Australia. While you can apply for reassessments or payment plans if you genuinely can't pay, refusing payment will result in the government taking action to recover the debt.