Applying for Child Care Subsidy (CCS) happens in two halves that have to meet in the middle. One half is your claim with Centrelink — who you are, who your child is, what your family earns and what each parent does. The other half is the enrolment — your child's place at an approved service, which the service records with Services Australia and you confirm. The subsidy only starts flowing to your fees once both halves line up on your record.
This guide sets out the order. For the paperwork your centre will ask for, see the enrolment paperwork checklist. For how much you might receive, see how much Child Care Subsidy you will get.
Step 1 — a myGov account linked to Centrelink
Every part of the claim runs through Centrelink online, reached from your myGov account. If you already use myGov for Medicare or tax, the account exists; what matters is that Centrelink is linked to it. If Centrelink is not yet linked, that is the first thing to set up, because none of the later steps can start without it.
Step 2 — a Customer Reference Number for you and your child
Services Australia identifies each person by a Customer Reference Number (CRN). You need your own, and your child needs their own, with the two linked on your Centrelink record.
- If you already receive Family Tax Benefit (FTB) or claimed Parental Leave Pay for this child, you and your child may already have CRNs.
- If this is your first claim for this child, the child is added to your Centrelink record, which gives them a CRN. A newborn generally needs their birth registered first — the birth registration and Medicare guide covers that step.
Your centre will ask for both CRNs at enrolment, so it helps to have them before you sign.
Step 3 — make the CCS claim through Centrelink online
With both CRNs linked, you lodge the Child Care Subsidy claim online through Centrelink. The claim builds your family's CCS assessment from a few sets of facts.
Your family income estimate. CCS is income-tested on your family's combined adjusted taxable income (ATI) for the financial year — yours, plus your partner's if you have one. Your percentage for the year is set from this estimate, then balanced against actual income once tax returns are lodged. The guide on what income to tell Centrelink for CCS covers how to estimate it, and CCS reconciliation explained covers what happens at the end of the year.
Your activity details. Each parent's recognised participation — paid work, study, volunteering, looking for work and other recognised activities — sets how many subsidised hours your family gets each fortnight. Since 5 January 2026, every eligible family receives at least 72 hours per fortnight under the 3 Day Guarantee. More than 48 hours of recognised participation per fortnight for each parent unlocks 100 hours. The CCS activity test guide sets out what counts.
Residency. You need to meet the residence rules, and so does your child. Newly arrived families have their own rules, set out in Family Tax Benefit and Child Care Subsidy for newly arrived residents.
Immunisation. Your child's immunisations need to be up to date for their age, or covered by an approved exemption. Services Australia checks this against the Australian Immunisation Register. The immunisation pause guide explains what happens to payments when a record falls behind.
Step 4 — enrol with an approved service
CCS is only paid for approved care — centre-based long day care, family day care, outside school hours care and approved in-home care. Informal care from a grandparent, friend or babysitter is not approved care.
When you accept a place, the service asks you to sign an enrolment arrangement, often called a Complying Written Arrangement. It sets out the sessions and fees. The service then records the enrolment with Services Australia.
Step 5 — confirm the enrolment in your Centrelink account
Once the service has recorded the enrolment, it appears in your Centrelink account for you to confirm. Until you confirm it, the subsidy cannot be applied to your fees, and you may be charged the full fee in the meantime. If the enrolment does not appear, the service is usually the quickest place to ask, as it can see its side of the record.
Step 6 — check the first statement
Your first fortnight's statement shows the fee, the subsidy applied and your out-of-pocket gap. If the gap differs noticeably from what the Child Care Subsidy calculator showed, the usual causes are:
- Activity details that do not match what each parent now does.
- An income estimate that has not been updated since a change.
- A session length at the service that differs from the one you modelled.
- A child CRN that is not yet linked to your record.
Keeping it current
A CCS assessment is not set once and left. A pay rise, a change of hours, a partner returning to work or a new child in care all change the numbers. Updating your income estimate and activity details through Centrelink when something changes keeps your fortnightly subsidy close to your actual entitlement, which is what keeps the end-of-year balancing calm.
Services Australia publishes the current claim process at servicesaustralia.gov.au/child-care-subsidy. Where this guide describes a step in general terms, their page is the place to check the exact screens.