Instruction sheet or fact sheet heading

General early childhood education and child care information is available at mychild.gov.au or 13 36 84



Fact
Sheet 10
Information for families using child care
What is the Child Care Rebate (CCR)?
The CCR is a payment from the Australian Government that helps working families with the cost of child
care. If you are using approved child care for the purposes of Child Care Benefit (CCB) for work, training or
study-related reasons the Government will provide you with 50 per cent of your out-of-pocket child care
costs, up to the annual cap. For the 2013-2014 income year, the CCR annual cap is $7,500 per child per
year.
You have the option to receive your CCR paid fortnightly, either directly to your bank account, or through
your child care service provider as a fee reduction. You still have the option of having your CCR paid
quarterly or annually as a lump sum directly to your bank account.
Who can get the CCR?
There are certain requirements you must meet to get the CCR. You must have:
used CCB approved child care
been eligible for CCB (entitled at a rate of zero or more)*
passed the work, training, study test (for the purposes of the rebate).



*Note: To receive CCR you must claim CCB. There is no income test for CCR. If you are eligible
for CCB but your CCB entitlement is zero due to income, you may still be eligible for CCR.



What is CCB approved care?
CCB approved care covers child care services approved by the Government because they meet certain
quality standards and operating requirements. Services include:
Long Day Care
Family Day Care
Outside School Hours Care (including before and after school and during school holidays)
Occasional Care
In Home Care.
To find out if your child care service is CCB approved, search the MyChild website or call the
Child Care Access Hotline on 1800 670 305.


What is the work, training, study test?
To get the CCR, both you and your partner (if you have one) must have had work, training or
study-related commitments at some time during a week or have an exemption. No minimum number of
hours is required.
For more information about this test, contact the Department of Human Services by visiting the
Department of Human Services website or calling 13 61 50.


General early childhood education and child care information is available at mychild.gov.au or 13 36 84




How much CCR can I get?
If you meet the eligibility criteria you can get 50 per cent of your out-of pocket child care expenses up to the
annual cap. For the 2013-2014 income year, the CCR annual cap is $7,500 per child per year.
Out-of-pocket expenses mean the amount you pay for child care after your CCB and Jobs, Education and
Training (JET) Child Care fee assistance amounts are taken out.
Payment process to receive CCR
There are four ways to receive your CCR:
1. Direct to your CCB approved child care service paid fortnightly
2. Direct to your bank account paid fortnightly
3. Quarterly payment to your bank account
4. Annual payment to your bank account

The payment option you choose for CCR will be applied for the entire 2013-2014 financial year. A new
payment option cannot be applied until the start of the next financial year, unless exceptional circumstances
apply.
Fortnightly payments
The timing of the fortnightly payment depends on how frequently your child care service provider submits
your child care attendance records. For some families this will mean a fortnightly payment but for others it
will actually be paid weekly.
Where you are receiving a higher than zero rate of CCB and you choose the CCR fortnightly payment option,
the Department of Human Services will withhold 15 per cent of the payment to ensure that you do not
accumulate a debt or overpayment of CCB or CCR within a financial year. The balance of these funds
withheld will be reconciled at the end of the financial year (when your tax returns have been lodged and all
your child care attendance information has been received). Any outstanding amounts will be paid as a direct
payment to your bank account.
Where your CCB entitlement is zero you will receive your full 50 per cent CCR as a fortnightly payment up to
the annual cap. As you do not receive CCB during the year, there is no risk of a debt after the end of the
financial year reconciliation process.
You must claim CCB as reduced fees if you want to receive your CCR as a fortnightly payment (and in many
cases weekly) even if your CCB entitlement is zero due to income.
Quarterly Payments
If you choose to receive your CCR as quarterly payments, they will be paid once the
Department of Human Services has received child care attendance details from your CCB approved child
care service/s for the quarter. If you already receive your CCR as a quarterly payment then this will continue
unless you nominate to receive fortnightly payments.
At the end of the financial year, the CCR will be reconciled against your actual income and adjusted for the
financial year. Payment of the last quarter of the CCR will be held until CCB reconciliation occurs (when
your tax returns have been lodged and all your child care attendance information has been received).
This will then be used in any adjustments as part of the reconciliation. The CCR entitlement is paid directly
into your bank account by the Department of Human Services.
You must claim CCB as reduced fees if you want to receive your CCR as a quarterly payment even if your
CCB entitlement is zero due to income.
It is important to note that you cannot get the CCR for registered care.



General early childhood education and child care information is available at mychild.gov.au or 13 36 84



By choosing to receive CCB as reduced fees at the zero rate (or more than the zero rate), your CCR can be
paid fortnightly (and in many cases weekly) or quarterly. At reconciliation your final CCB and CCR
entitlements will be paid without the need to submit a CCB lump sum claim.
Annual Payment
Your CCR will be paid directly to your nominated bank account as a lump sum, once you have claimed CCB,
you and your partners tax return/s have been lodged and your child care attendance has been received.
This payment option is only available if you receive your CCB for approved child care as a lump sum. From
2012-2013 onwards, you have 12 months to make a lump sum claim. This means you have until
30 June 2014 to lodge a claim for 2012-2013.
When can I get my quarterly payments?
The table below contains the CCR quarterly payment timelines for the 2013-2014 financial year.
Table 1: CCR quarterly periods and payment timelines for 2013-2014.
Quarter




Child Care Rebate Quarterly Periods Child Care Rebate Payment Periods
If you have not received your payment
within a week of the end of the
relevant payment period below you
may need to contact the
Department of Human Services on
13 61 50
2013-2014 2013-2014
One
1 July 201329 September 2013

16 October 201329 October 2013
Two
30 September 201329 December 2013

15 January 201428 January 2014
Three
30 December 201330 March 2014

16 April 201429 April 2014
Four

31 March 20146 July 2014

28 July 2014 onwards

If your tax returns have been lodged
for the 2013-2014 financial year with
the Australian Taxation Office (ATO)
and attendance information is
received from your Child Care Service
Provider.
What if my child is absent from child care?
CCB, CCR and if applicable JET Child Care fee assistance can be paid in some situations if you are charged
for child care when your child is absent. You will get CCB and CCR for 42 absence days per child each
financial year. These can be for any reason and will not require proof.
You can also get CCB and CCR for additional absence days above this for specific reasons only. There is no
limit on these days but you may be required to provide documentation to support the absence.
More information is available in Fact Sheet 9Absences from child careChild Care Benefit (CCB) and
Child Care Rebate (CCR).
General early childhood education and child care information is available at mychild.gov.au or 13 36 84




You can also access your childs absence record on your online statement along with your child care
attendance, CCB and CCR amounts paid statements. This is available by visiting Online Services at the
Department of Human Services.
What if I did not get CCB?
If you have now identified that you are eligible for CCB but have not received it, you can claim by lodging a
Claim for Approved Child Care payments as an annual lump sum payment (FA011 or FA052) with the
Department of Human Services. Up until 2012-2013, you have 24 months to make a lump sum claim. This
means you have until 30 June 2014 to lodge a claim for 2011-2012.
From 2012-2013 onwards, you have 12 months to make a lump sum claim. This means you have until
30 June 2014 to lodge a claim for 2012-2013.
Extensions to the 12 month period will be provided in exceptional circumstances.
If you were not eligible for CCB, you will not be able to get the CCR.


How can I get more information?
For further information on your eligibility for CCB and CCR please contact the
Department of Human Services
access Online Services at the Department of Human Services
call 13 61 50 between 8 am and 8 pm (local time) Monday to Friday
visit a Service Centre (located in Medicare Offices and Centrelink Service Centres).
Useful resources
for news and information on child care visit the MyChild website
to estimate and compare payments access the Child Care Estimator
A Guide to Australian Government payments
If you need to, you can also call:
Teletypewriter (TTY) 1800 810 586 (if you are deaf or have a hearing or speech impairment).
You need a TTY phone to use this service.
13 12 02 if you need information in a language other than English.

Note: CCB, CCR and J ET Child Care fee assistance are not payable for absences if your child
uses more than their 42 absence days for the financial year and does not meet the conditions for
additional absences.


Correct as at 010713