How to apply for subsidised daycare in 2025

Are you eligible to apply for a daycare subsidy?

To access subsidised daycare via the Child Care Subsidy, you and your child have to meet the following criteria.

As a parent or carer, you’ll need to:

• Care for your child at least two nights per fortnight (which works out to 14% of the time or more).
• Be the one responsible for paying the childcare fees at an approved early learning centre.
• Meet Australian residency requirements. For example, being a citizen or permanent resident.
• Have a combined annual family income under $535,279.

Meanwhile, your child must:

• Be up to date with their immunisations (or have an approved exemption).
• Be 13 years old or younger (there are some exceptions for children with additional needs).
• Not be attending secondary school, unless there’s an approved reason.

Important update: From January 2026, eligible families will receive at least 72 hours of subsidised care per fortnight (and up to 100 hours for First Nations families). This 3-Day Guarantee is a major step toward making childcare more affordable and accessible for all families.

You can learn more about eligibility criteria on the Services Australia website.

How to apply for the daycare subsidy

Applying for a daycare subsidy in Australia is a simple process, but it does need to be done through your myGov account—not through your childcare provider.

Here’s how to apply for the Child Care Subsidy:

1. Gather your documents. You’ll need some key information ready, including proof of identity, recent payslips, and (if needed) medical or residency documents.
2. Log in to myGov. If you don’t have an account yet, you can easily create one at my.gov.au.
3. Link Centrelink to your myGov account, if you haven’t already.
4. Go to Centrelink and select:
   1. ‘Payment and ‘Claims’
   2. Then ‘Claims’
   3. Then ‘Make a Claim’
5. Under the Families category, click ‘Get Started’ to begin your CCS application.
6. Fill in the form with your details, including income information, activity hours (like work or study), and information about your child.
7. Submit your application and wait for Centrelink to assess your claim.

After completing these steps, you’ll receive an assessment letter that outlines your CCS percentage and the number of subsidised hours per fortnight your child is eligible for.

Once you have this letter, share your Customer Reference Number (CRN) and your child’s CRN with your childcare provider. These numbers are generated during your application and can be found in your myGov account.

Your childcare service will then create an enrolment notice in the system. You’ll get a prompt from Centrelink to log back in and approve the enrolment.

And don’t forget—if you have more than one child in care, you’ll need to submit a separate CCS claim for each child.

What documents do I need when applying for subsidised daycare?

You’ll be guided through the exact documents needed for subsidised daycare during the online claim process. That said, here’s a list of the most commonly requested documents to help you prepare:

• Proof of identity: Such as a birth certificate, driver’s licence, or passport for both you and your child.
• Residency status: If relevant, provide a visa, citizenship certificate, or permanent residency card.
• Income details: Recent payslips, tax returns, or Centrelink income statements to assess your family’s combined income.
• Your child’s details: A birth certificate or Medicare card listing your child to confirm their identity and age.
• Immunisation history: Evidence that your child is up to date with immunisations, which is a requirement for CCS eligibility.
• Activity test evidence: Documents showing your hours of work, study, training, volunteering, or job seeking, such as employment contracts or course enrolment letters.

It’s best to start early and upload everything through myGov under the Centrelink section. Having these documents ready can help speed up your application and reduce delays.

When to apply for subsidised daycare

You should apply for the Child Care Subsidy as soon as you start planning daycare, even before choosing a provider or enrolling your child.

The application process can take several weeks, and your subsidy won’t be backdated to cover care provided before approval.

That means if your subsidy isn’t approved by the time your little one starts daycare, you’ll need to pay full fees out of pocket until it is.

Applying early helps avoid unexpected costs and ensures your subsidy kicks in from your child’s first day.

How much subsidised daycare can I receive?

The amount of Child Care Subsidy you can receive depends on a few key factors, including:

• Your family’s combined income
• The number of hours you and your partner spend in recognised activities like working, studying, volunteering or job searching
• Your childcare provider’s hourly rate and whether it’s above or below the government’s hourly cap
• The number of children in your care, especially those aged 5 or under

Importantly, families earning under $85,279 per year are entitled to the maximum CCS rate of 90%. For every additional $5,000 earned, the subsidy decreases by 1%, tapering off as income rises.

Moreover, if you have more than one child aged 5 or under in care, you may be eligible for a higher subsidy rate for your second and younger children—which can make a big difference in your weekly fees.

The 3-Day Guarantee and Activity Test

As of January 2026, the 3-Day Guarantee means that most eligible families will receive at least 72 hours of subsidised care per fortnight, even if they have low or no recognised activity.

Here’s how Child Care Subsidy hours will work under the 3-Day Guarantee:

• A minimum of 72 hours per fortnight: Available to families regardless of activity level, including those who previously received 0, 24, or 36 hours.
• Up to 72 hours per fortnight (Activity Test result): For families with 16 to 48 hours of recognised activity each fortnight. These families already received up to 72 hours, so the guarantee doesn’t change this tier.
• Up to 100 hours per fortnight: For families with over 48 hours of recognised activity, and for First Nations families, who are eligible for up to 100 subsidised hours regardless of activity.
• This system is designed to recognise different types of work, learning and community contribution, while ensuring all families can access at least three days of early learning each week.

However, the Activity Test will still apply if you need more subsidised hours than the guaranteed minimum each fortnight.

It looks at the number of hours you and your partner spend doing recognised activities, with Services Australia using the parent with the lowest activity level to calculate your entitlement.

A wide range of everyday activities can count toward your activity level, including:

• Paid work, including unpaid breaks
• Travel time between your child’s service and your workplace
• Authorised leave, such as annual leave, parental leave or long service leave
• Unpaid leave (up to six months)
• Unpaid work in a family business
• Starting or running a new business
• Study or training, including semester breaks
• Work experience or internships
• Volunteering
• Looking for work, including applications, interviews and travel to interviews

The Additional Child Care Subsidy

The Additional Child Care Subsidy (ACCS) offers extra help for families who need a bit more support with daycare costs.

It provides more hours of subsidised care and higher fee assistance, so that children in challenging circumstances can still access quality early education and support.

To get the ACCS, you’ll first need to be eligible for the standard Child Care Subsidy. From there, you may qualify for the additional subsidy if you fall into one of the following categories:

• You’re a grandparent who’s the primary carer of your grandchild and receiving an income support payment;
• You’re transitioning to work after receiving an eligible income support payment (like Parenting Payment or JobSeeker);
• You’re experiencing temporary financial hardship, such as a major life event or sudden loss of income; or
• You’re caring for a vulnerable child or one at risk of harm, abuse, or neglect.

You can apply through myGov under Centrelink.

Start Strong: another childcare subsidy in NSW

In NSW, there’s also another way to make early learning more affordable, and it’s called the Start Strong program.

This state-funded initiative is designed to support families with children aged three to five years, helping them access quality preschool education before they enter big school.

Start Strong provides fee relief through participating preschools and daycare centres like Juniors Journey.

Families can receive funding for up to 600 hours of preschool each year, which means your little one can enjoy two years of play-based learning, not just one.

Importantly, Start Strong works alongside the Child Care Subsidy for preschool education. Depending on your situation, you might be able to benefit from both programs at the same time.

Discover subsidised daycare in Lake Macquarie

The Child Care Subsidy is one of the easiest ways to make early learning more affordable. This entire process is handled through your myGov account, and once your claim is approved, your chosen provider can help finalise the enrolment.

Now that you know how to apply for subsidised daycare, you’re ready to move forward—starting with submitting your claim and choosing a daycare.

At Juniors Journey, we believe every child deserves access to nurturing care and play-based learning, no matter their family’s circumstances.

If you live near Gateshead, Mildura, or Eglinton, our daycare centre is a wonderful place to start your little one’s education. Enrol your child, book a tour or get in touch to learn more.