Childcare Rebates Explained: What Happened to CCR & CCB?

What is the Child Care Subsidy?

The Child Care Subsidy is government-funded financial assistance to reduce your out-of-pocket costs for childcare. You may have heard it called a child care rebate or child care benefit. Depending on your circumstances, you may be entitled to receive up to 90% of your childcare fees covered by the subsidy.

Extra support is also available for:

• Families experiencing temporary financial hardship
• Grandparent carers on income support

Learn More about the Child Care Subsidy

Changes to Child Care Subsidy (CCS)

The Australian Government’s Child Care Subsidy (CCS) helps make early learning more affordable for eligible families by offering a rebate that reduces out-of-pocket childcare costs. The subsidy is paid directly to approved childcare providers, helping families access high-quality early childhood education and care for their children.

Since replacing the Child Care Benefit (CCB) and Child Care Rebate (CCR) in 2018, the CCS has continued to evolve, with recent updates making care more accessible for more Australian families.

We know family life can be busy, so we’ve outlined the latest 2025–26 Child Care Subsidy information – including the new 3 Day Guarantee – to help make understanding CCS a little easier.

Child Care Subsidy for 2025–26

From July 2025, updated CCS income thresholds and hourly rate caps came into effect, allowing more families to access higher levels of support.

For the 2025–26 financial year:

• Families earning up to $535,279 may be eligible for CCS
• Families earning up to $85,279 can receive a subsidy of up to 90%
• Families with more than one child aged 5 or under in care may receive a higher subsidy for younger children, with subsidies of up to 95% available in some circumstances
• The hourly rate cap for Centre Based Day Care increased to $14.63 per hour for children below school age

Your CCS percentage is determined by several factors, including:

• your combined family income
• the number and age of children in care
• your recognised participation level (such as work, study, volunteering or training)
• the type of approved childcare you use

The subsidy applies to whichever is lower – your childcare provider’s hourly fee or the government hourly rate cap.

Three Day Guarantee

From 5 January 2026, the Australian Government introduced the Three Day Guarantee, making early learning more accessible for families across Australia.

Under the Three Day Guarantee:

• all CCS-eligible families can access at least 72 hours of subsidised care per fortnight (equivalent to around 3 days per week), regardless of their activity level
• families with higher recognised activity levels may still be eligible for up to 100 subsidised hours per fortnight
• families caring for First Nations children can continue to access 100 subsidised hours per fortnight for eligible children

This change means more families can benefit from quality early learning, even if they are not currently meeting previous activity test requirements.

Preschool and Kindergarten Support

Additional state-based preschool subsidies and kindergarten subsidies may also be available for children aged 3–5 years attending a government-approved program like Guardian’s Flying Start to School.

For more information, please visit our Fee Support Information page.

Making the Most of Your CCS

Understanding how CCS works can help your family maximise the support available to you. Changes to your income, work or study arrangements, or the number of children in care can all impact your subsidy entitlement.

We’ve put together helpful information to support families in understanding how CCS works and how to make the most of available government support.

Learn more about making the most of your CCS Subsidy and additional fee support.

Estimate Your Child Care Subsidy

We’ve made it easy to estimate your family’s potential childcare costs with our simple Child Care Subsidy Calculator.

Curious about your family’s Child Care Subsidy? Use our CCS Calculator to get an estimate.