Child Care Rebate

Child Care Rebate is not income tested.

You may be eligible for Child Care Rebate if:

• you use a service approved for Child Care Benefit, and
• you are eligible for Child Care Benefit, even if you earn too much to receive payment, and
• you and your partner meet the 'work, training, study test' or are exempt from it

The maximum amount of Child Care Rebate you may receive per child, per financial year, depends on which year it's for and on your out of pocket expenses.

Out of pocket expenses are your total child care fees less the amount of any Child Care Benefit and Jobs, Education and Training Child Care Fee Assistance that you may be eligible for.

The amount of Child Care Rebate is based on 50% of your out of pocket expenses.

From July 2011,the Child Care Rebate maximum amount is $7,500 per child per year. The maximum rebate amount will remain unchanged until 30 June 2014.

Claiming the Child Care Rebate

There are four ways to receive your Child Care Rebate.

Read more about payment options for Child Care Rebate

You meet the 'work, training, study test' for Child Care Rebate if you worked, trained, or studied at some time during the week in which you used child care or are exempt from that requirement.

Read more about work, training, study requirements

You can be paid for any absence from approved care your child attends for up to 42 days per child per financial year. Additional absences beyond 42 days for certain reasons may be approved and paid. Please talk to your child care provider about the additional absences.

Public holidays will be counted as an absence if the child would normally have attended the service on that day, if it were not a public holiday, and fees have been charged for that day for the child. You can access your child’s absence record on your online statement by selecting 'View Child Care Details and Payments' at Centrelink Online Services. You can also do this using the Express Plus Families mobile app.

For more information on absences from child care, you can use the Information for families using child care kit, on the Department of Education, Employment and Workplace Relations website.

Approved child care services for Child Care Benefit have Australian Government approval to pass on Child Care Benefit to families as a reduction in their child care fees. Approved child care can include long day care, family day care, outside school-hours care, vacation care, in home care, and occasional care. To receive Child Care Rebate, you must be using an approved service.

To find out whether your child care service is approved for Child Care Benefit, ask your child care service provider or go to mychild.gov.au

If you are eligible for Child Care Rebate, you may be entitled to other payments and services such as:

• Australian Childhood Immunisation Register
• Carer Allowance
• Centrelink Online Services
• Child Care Benefit

Child Care Rebate is different to Child Care Benefit. It is important to remember that Child Care Rebate is not income tested.

To receive Child Care Rebate you need to claim Child Care Benefit for approved child care. You don't need to lodge a separate claim for Child Care Rebate. You will automatically be assessed when you claim Child Care Benefit for approved care.

In some cases you may be assessed as being eligible for Child Care Benefit, but not actually be entitled to any payment because your income is too high. We call this the 'zero rate' of Child Care Benefit. If you are assessed at the zero rate, you may still get Child Care Rebate.

You can use the Child Care Online Estimator to find out about the child care assistance that you may be entitled to receive, based on your circumstances.

Read more about:

• Child Care Benefit
• Updating your family income estimate
• Do you need to lodge a tax return?

You need to tell us if your circumstances change when you are receiving a payment. If you or your partners work, training or study arrangements change you need to advise as this may affect your eligibility for the Child Care Rebate.

If any of the following circumstances change this may affect your eligibility or rate of entitlement for Child Care Benefit, which may then affect your eligibility for the Child Care Rebate. 

• your personal circumstances change
• you change your address
• your income changes
• you do not have to lodge a tax return
• your care arrangements change
• your work or study load changes
• you leave Australia

If you do not tell us about the changes within 14 days your payment may be affected. You may be overpaid benefits and you will probably have to pay the money back.

If you deliberately do not tell us about changes, you could be charged with fraud, and a recovery fee may be imposed.

Overpayments

All overpayments need to be paid back.

Overpayment(s) of Child Care Rebate may be recovered from your Child Care Benefit or Child Care Rebate top ups as well as from any Family Tax Benefit end of year supplements. Overpayments may also be recovered from tax refunds.

After the end of the financial year, your Child Care Rebate may be adjusted when your actual Child Care Benefit entitlements are known.

There are rules about getting your payment when you leave Australia.

Read more about payments paid while outside Australia

Our self service options are a quick and effective way to deal with us. You can use self service where it's convenient to you and manage things yourself:

• online - you need to register to use some of the services, then you can do many things where and when it suits you
• on your mobile device - our Express Plus mobile apps are simple, fast and convenient, giving you more choices for dealing with Centrelink
• on the phone - you can self-register for Centrelink Phone Self Service
• using a self service terminal at one of our Service Centres