Estimate your out-of-pocket childcare costs and government subsidy.
Centre Based Day Care ($13.73 cap)
Outside School Hours Care ($12.72 cap)
Family Day Care ($12.72 cap)
In Home Care ($14.00 cap)
Estimated Subsidy Percentage:0%
Subsidized Hours (per fortnight):0 hrs
Hourly Government Contribution:0 hrs
Total Cost (per fortnight):$0.00
Your Out-of-Pocket Cost:$0.00
How the Child Care Subsidy (CCS) is Calculated
The Child Care Subsidy is the main way the Australian Government helps families with the cost of childcare. The amount you receive depends on three primary factors:
Combined Family Income: Families earning under $80,000 typically receive the highest subsidy rate (90%). As income increases, the percentage gradually decreases.
Activity Level: This includes paid work, self-employment, volunteering, or studying. The more hours of "activity" you perform, the more hours of subsidized care you can claim (up to 100 hours per fortnight).
Service Type: The government sets an "hourly rate cap" based on the type of care (e.g., Center Based Day Care vs. Family Day Care). If your provider charges more than the cap, you pay the difference.
Example Calculation
If a family earns $100,000 a year, their subsidy percentage is roughly 86%. If their child attends a center charging $15 per hour for 50 hours a fortnight, and the hourly cap is $13.73:
The government applies the 86% to the cap ($13.73), not the full $15.
Government pays: $13.73 x 0.86 = $11.80 per hour.
Family pays: $15.00 – $11.80 = $3.20 per hour.
Total out-of-pocket for 50 hours: $160.00.
Important Considerations
Please note that this calculator provides an estimate only. Centrelink also applies a 5% withholding amount to your subsidy during the year to reduce the chance of a debt when your tax return is balanced at the end of the financial year. To get an exact figure, you must apply via your MyGov account linked to Centrelink.
function calculateCCS() {
var income = parseFloat(document.getElementById('familyIncome').value) || 0;
var activity = parseFloat(document.getElementById('activityHours').value) || 0;
var rate = parseFloat(document.getElementById('hourlyRate').value) || 0;
var sessionLen = parseFloat(document.getElementById('sessionHours').value) || 0;
var sessions = parseFloat(document.getElementById('sessionsFortnight').value) || 0;
var cap = parseFloat(document.getElementById('careType').value);
// 1. Calculate Subsidy Percentage (2024 standards approx)
var percentage = 0;
if (income <= 80000) {
percentage = 90;
} else if (income < 530000) {
// Subsidy decreases by 1% for every $5,000 of income over $80,000
percentage = 90 – ((income – 80000) / 5000);
} else {
percentage = 0;
}
if (percentage = 8 && activity 16 && activity 48) {
subHours = 100;
} else if (activity < 8 && income <= 80000) {
// Low income safety net usually 24 hours
subHours = 24;
} else {
subHours = 0;
}
// 3. Calculation logic
var totalHoursNeeded = sessionLen * sessions;
var hoursActuallySubsidized = Math.min(totalHoursNeeded, subHours);
// The subsidy applies to the lower of the actual rate or the cap
var applicableRate = Math.min(rate, cap);
var govContributionPerHour = applicableRate * (percentage / 100);
var totalFortnightlyCost = rate * totalHoursNeeded;
var totalGovContribution = govContributionPerHour * hoursActuallySubsidized;
// Any hours over the limit are charged at full rate
// Any amount over the hourly cap is charged at full rate
var outOfPocket = totalFortnightlyCost – totalGovContribution;
// Display Results
document.getElementById('resPercentage').innerText = percentage.toFixed(2) + "%";
document.getElementById('resHours').innerText = subHours + " hours";
document.getElementById('resHourlyGov').innerText = "$" + govContributionPerHour.toFixed(2) + " /hr";
document.getElementById('resTotalCost').innerText = "$" + totalFortnightlyCost.toLocaleString(undefined, {minimumFractionDigits: 2, maximumFractionDigits: 2});
document.getElementById('resOutOfPocket').innerText = "$" + outOfPocket.toLocaleString(undefined, {minimumFractionDigits: 2, maximumFractionDigits: 2});
document.getElementById('ccsResult').style.display = 'block';
}