Child Care Subsidy

This is a Services Australia payment that helps with the cost of approved child care.

Services Australia pays the subsidy to your child care provider to reduce the fees you pay.

This payment is changing

From 10 July 2023 there are changes to Child Care Subsidy (CCS),  which will make child care cheaper for most families. There are also changes to the CCS activity test for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander children.

Find out more about changes if you get family payments on the Services Australia website.

Who can get it

To get CCS you must:

  • care for a child 13 or younger who's not attending secondary school, unless an exemption applies
  • use an approved child care service
  • be responsible for paying the child care fees
  • meet residency and immunisation requirements.

Find out more about who can get it and how much you can get on the Services Australia website.

How to get it

Claim online

Sign in to myGov and start a claim

You’ll need to have Centrelink linked to your myGov account to claim this payment.

If you don’t have a myGov account

If you don’t have a myGov account, follow the steps to create one. When you’ve created one, you can link services to your account.

If you can’t claim online

Call the families line on the Services Australia website.

You may also be eligible for

You may be able to get Additional Child Care Subsidy (ACCS), depending on your circumstances.

Help in your language

Call the Centrelink multilingual phone service on 131 202 to speak with someone in your language.

Find information in more languages about Centrelink on the Services Australia website.