Over the past nine months we have been communicating with you about Australia’s New Child Care Package which commences on 2 July. As a provider of child care, we want to ensure we support families through this vast amount of change and supplement the information you have been provided by Centrelink.
Eligible families who have a finalised assessment will see the new Child Care Subsidy take effect on their child care payments for YMCA NSW on 29 June (when you will be billed for the period 2 July-13 July).
Understanding your Child Care Subsidy entitlements
If you have not completed your Child Care Subsidy Assessment please take action NOW!
If you have a completed and processed Child Care Subsidy Assessment you should now have received a letter from Centrelink notifying that “Your Child Care Subsidy assessment has been finalised”.
The letter details the fee assistance you are eligible to receive from 2 July.
If you haven’t received a letter, sign into your Centrelink account via myGov to check. It will provide you with important details on entitlements. Here’s what it all means.
| Entitlements Explained | |
| Subsidy Percentage | Combined family income determines the percentage of subsidy you’re eligible for. This applies to the hourly fee charged or the hourly rate cap – whichever is lowest. The hourly rate cap for Outside School Hours Care is $10.29 for 2018/2019. |
| Subsidised hours per fortnight | This is the number of hours of subsidised child care that families will have access to per fortnight. If you attend more hours than you’re entitled to, you will not receive the subsidy on the additional hours. |
| Annual Cap | The Annual Cap has been removed for families earning $186,958 or less per year. The Annual Cap has been increased to $10,190 per year per child for families earning over $186,959 and under $351,248 per year. |
| Withholdings | 5% of your weekly Child Care Subsidy entitlement will be withheld. E.g. If your Subsidy percentage is 85%, 5% of the 85% is withheld. The actual subsidy that would be covered would be 80.75%. Following reconciliation, if you haven't received enough Child Care Subsidy based on your adjusted taxable income, you will receive a lump sum payment. If you have been paid too much Child Care Subsidy, you will have a debt to repay. |
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Here's an Example of how this works Sarah attends Outside School Hours Care (OSHC) for 50 hours per fortnight. The hourly fee charged equates to $10.00 per hour. Total fees charged before the subsidy per fortnight is $500.00. Sarah's Child Care Subsidy Summary
Sarah's Subsidy percentage of 85% will be applied to the hourly OSHC rate of $10.00, less the 5% withholdings (that's 5% of the 85% - meaning the actual subsidy paid will be 80.75%). Sarah is not using over 100 hours of care per fortnight, so the subsidy will be applied to all hours. Sarah is not subject to the annual cap. This means, 80.75% ($403.75) of the fees will be covered by the Child Care Subsidy Entitlement, for all hours of care. This will be paid directly to the child care provider. The family will pay the Gap amount of $96.25 per fortnight. Total fees = $500.00 per fortnight CCS Amount = $403.75 per fortnight Gap Amount = $96.25 per fortnight Disclaimer: This example has been prepared for informational purposes only based on information provided by Centrelink and is not intended to provide any financial advice. |
Reminder: Key Dates
22 June You will not be billed this week.
If you have not completed your Child Care Subsidy Assessment – take action NOW! Centrelink may be experiencing delays. Your Subsidy claim may not be processed in time.
26 June Fortnightly statements will be emailed
Please check your statement to see how your subsidy has changed and what your new billing amount is.
If you do not have a completed and processed Child Care Subsidy Assessment your statement will reflect full fees.
29 June First Fortnightly Direct Debit
(Billing Period – 2 July to 13 July)
The Direct Debit Calendar will help you keep track of billing dates.
Need more information? The YMCA NSW Child Care Team is here to help!
Monday to Friday, 6:30am-6:30pm
P: 1300 00 9679
E: childcare@ymcansw.org.au
W: ymcansw.org.au/childcarepackage
