Child Care Benefit Overadvances

Prior to the transition to the Child Care Management System (CCMS) some child care service providers receiving Child Care Benefit (CCB) quarterly advance payments were overpaid.

The Department of Education, Employment and Workplace Relations is in the process of recovering these overadvances. Child care service providers who have overadvances will be advised in writing of their overpayment amount and repayment options in late May 2010.

Under the previous payment arrangements, overadvances were generally recovered from the next available quarterly advance, usually within 13 weeks of becoming known. The department has extended the repayment period to 52 weeks to allow providers greater flexibility in repaying their overadvance amount.

Providers may repay overadvances by:

  • making a full repayment to the department, or
  • making repayments over a 52 week period. Repayments will be deducted from CCB fee reduction payments made to the service through the CCMS.

Alternatively, providers may wish to negotiate a different payment schedule to suit their circumstances. A Debt Recovery Team has been established within the department to carry out this work. The Debt Recovery Team can be contacted by phone on 1800 306 182 or by email at COSoveradvances@deewr.gov.au.

The deewr.gov.au website will include a CCB overadvances Frequently Asked Questions page that will be updated as required.