Some key facts about the new Child Care Subsidy System (CCSS) to be aware of. (See below) and to let you know that Harmony Web will be updated by 2 July to meet all requirements and to ensure you can continue to process as normal.
- From the 2nd July 2018, the Child Care Benefit and Child Care Rebate will be replaced by a single subsidy called Child Care Subsidy (CCS)
- Three things will now determine a family’s level of Child Care Subsidy
- Combined family income
- Activity level of both parents (based on the parent who does the least amount of recognised activity)
- The type of child care service families use
- Families earning $185,710 or less will have no cap on the amount of Child Care Subsidy they can claim
- Families earning more than $185,710 and less than $350,000 will see the existing annual cap rise from $7,613 to $10,000 per child, per year.
- The lower the combined family income, the more support families will receive.
- The number of hours of subsidised care families can access will be determined by an activity test. The higher the level of activity, the more hours of subsidised care families can access, up to a maximum of 100 hours per fortnight. In families with two parents, the parent with the lowest hours of activity per fortnight will determine the hours of subsidised care. Recognised activities:
- paid work – including leave, such as maternity leave
- approved study or training
- unpaid work in family business
- looking for work
- volunteering
- self-employment
- other activities on a case-by- case basis
There will be exemptions for parents who legitimately cannot meet the activity test requirements.
- The new subsidy is also based on the type of child care a family uses subject to an hourly cap rate:
- Centre-based care – $11.55 per hour
- Family Day Care – $10.70 per hour
- Outside school hours’ care – $10.10 per hour
- Services will create an enrolment notice from the 2nd July these will need to be verified by the families prior to any subsidies being paid
- Bookings will now be submitted on the enrolment notice and any changes to the bookings needs to be updated within 7 days of the change
- Actual sign in and out time will need to be submitted on the session along with the hours being charged.
If you require any further information you can visit the departments website at https://www.education.gov.au/new-child-care-package-families-2-july-2018
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