MyChild

Fortnightly Child Care Rebate payment option

From July 2011, the Government will provide you with the option to receive your Child Care Rebate (CCR) paid fortnightly, either directly to your bank account, or through your child care service as a fee reduction. You can still have the option to receive your CCR quarterly or annually as a lump sum directly to your bank account.

You have more choice than ever on how and when you receive your child care assistance. To help families to meet child care costs, from July 2008, the Australian Government increased the CCR from 30 per cent to 50 per cent of child care out of pocket costs and from a maximum of $4354 up to $7500 per child per year. In addition, since then families can elect to have their CCR paid quarterly instead of annually to ensure the assistance was there for them closer to the time they incur their child care expenses.

Unlike Child Care Benefit (CCB) the CCR is not income tested however, parents must first apply and be eligible for CCB to receive the rebate, even if they do not receive any CCB entitlement because their income is too high. The reason for this is to ensure that the CCR is paid only where families have met the eligibility criteria such as some work, training, study activity, in addition to other CCB eligibility requirements like residency and immunisation.

The Government is providing $16.4 billion through CCB ($9.2 billion) and the CCR ($7.2 billion) to help 800 000 families annually with the cost of child care over the next four years out to end 2013-14.

For further information enclosed is a Question and Answer fact sheet on the option for CCR to be paid fortnightly.