PARENT INFORMATION
Childcare subsidy
What is the Child Care Subsidy?
The Child Care Subsidy (CCS) helps make early learning and childcare more accessible for Australian families. The Child Care Subsidy will be paid directly to your approved child care provider/s to reduce the fees you pay.
How does the Child Care Subsidy work?
The Child Care Subsidy will be paid directly to childcare providers to be passed on to families as a fee reduction. Families will contribute the difference between the provider fee charged and the subsidised amount. This is known as the families gap fee.
Calculate how much Child Care Subsidy your family could receive:
To calculate how much childcare subsidy you can receive at one of our daycare centres in Sydney, families can use the CCS Calculator at StartingBlocks.gov.au to estimate your childcare payments.
There are three factors that will determine your level of subsidy:
Our Family Relations Team can help you calculate an estimate for your subsidy, contact us for more information.
Combined Family Income
Type of Approved Childcare
Activity Level of your Family
Activity level of parents
From 5 January 2026, the Child Care Subsidy (CCS) activity test was replaced. CCS eligible families can get at least 72 hours of subsidised child care each fortnight.
You can get 100 hours of subsidised child care each fortnight if either of the following apply:
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you and your partner, if you have one, each do more than 48 hours of recognised participation every fortnight
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you have a valid exemption.
Typer of approved activities:
Paid Work
Volunteering
Approved Study
Seeking Work
Self employed
Family Business
Training
Extra support
Some families can get Additional Child Care Subsidy. It will be paid on top of Child Care Subsidy to provide extra support with child care fees.
There are 3 different types of Additional Child Care Subsidy that you can apply for. You can apply if you’re either:
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a grandparent
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transitioning to work
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experiencing temporary financial hardship.