CCS When Your Circumstances Change
A CCS change of circumstances is anything that could affect your subsidy: income, work hours, your relationship, care arrangements or your child starting school. Services Australia asks you to report these as soon as possible, because your subsidy is only as accurate as your details. Some everyday changes, like adding a day with us, need no report at all. Here is what to tell them, how and when.
Use this guide when something big shifts at home or at work: a pay rise, a new job, a redundancy, a separation, a new partner or your child heading to kindergarten. It lists the changes that matter, explains how each affects your subsidy and covers the timing rules that decide whether you get money back or owe it.
For how the subsidy is calculated in the first place, see our complete Child Care Subsidy guide.
Changes you must report
Services Australia asks you to report any CCS change of circumstances as soon as possible, including changes to family income, work or study hours, relationship status, care arrangements, your child starting primary or secondary school, your address, your bank account or leaving Australia. Reporting quickly keeps your fortnightly subsidy right and avoids debts.
Report these
- Family income goes up or down
- Work, study or other participation changes
- Relationship starts or ends
- Care arrangements change
- Child starts school
- New address, bank account or travel overseas
No need to report
- More days at the same centre
- Swapping which days you use
- Changed drop-off or pick-up times
- Your child stopping care
The second list surprises many parents. Your centre reports attendance and enrolment changes to the government, so you do not need to tell Services Australia when you add a day with us or finish up.
Source: Services Australia, report a change in circumstances.
Income changes and your estimate
When your family income changes, update your income estimate for the financial year in myGov or the Express Plus Centrelink app. A higher income lowers your subsidy percentage and a lower income raises it, so updating straight away keeps each fortnight's subsidy close to your real entitlement and makes the end-of-year balance small.
Estimate the whole financial year, July to June. If a pay rise starts in March, add only the extra you will earn from March to June.
Include one-off payments such as bonuses, back pay or a capital gain in the year you receive them.
As a guide, a $5,000 rise in family income costs roughly $1.67 more per $170 day at Lead once your estimate is updated. Leaving it until tax time turns that into a debt instead.
If your income drops, updating quickly means a higher subsidy from the next fortnight, rather than waiting for a top-up after balancing.
Our thresholds and income guide lists exactly what counts.
Update your estimate after
- A pay rise or new salary
- Returning from leave
- A bonus or back pay
- A drop in hours or business income
Keep it currentChanging or losing a job
If you change jobs, update both your income estimate and your recognised participation hours. If you lose your job, update them straight away: your income for the year may fall, raising your percentage, and you may qualify for extra help through the temporary financial hardship category of the Additional Child Care Subsidy.
Your hours matter less than they used to. Since January 2026, every eligible family keeps at least 72 subsidised hours a fortnight, even with no work at all.
The 100-hour level needs each parent to do more than 48 hours of participation a fortnight. A new job that pushes both of you over that line is worth reporting.
Job hunting is recognised participation too, with a cap of 16 counted hours when it is all you are doing.
Losing a job involuntarily in the last six months can qualify for up to 13 weeks of full-fee help. See our guide to the Additional Child Care Subsidy.
Please also let us know. We can talk through your days and make sure your booking still suits your situation.
New job or lost job
- New job
- Update income and hours
- Lost job
- Update, consider hardship ACCS
- Hours floor
- 72 a fortnight regardless
Tell us tooSeparation and shared care
If you separate, call the Centrelink families line on 136 150 to update your relationship status, then review your income estimate and participation hours, because your family income is now your own household's. Under the family assistance rules, each parent who is responsible for fees on their care days can claim for those days, provided they have at least 14% of care.
For the year of the separation, balancing uses both incomes for the part of the year you lived as a couple. Services Australia gets the other person's figures itself, so there is no need to ask your ex-partner for anything.
A new partner works the other way: their income and participation count from when the relationship begins, so report it promptly.
Each parent claiming needs their own arrangement with the centre for the days they pay. Talk to us and we will set it up.
Our position at Lead is simple. We treat both parents' arrangements confidentially, follow any court orders or parenting plans you give us, and never share one parent's details with the other.
After a separation
- Call 136 150 to update status
- Review income and hours
- Set up your own arrangement with us
- Give us any court orders
Handled with careWhen your child starts school
Tell Services Australia when your child starts primary school for the first time. In NSW that is kindergarten, the first year of school, not preschool. Once your child is at school, the hourly rate cap for outside school hours care drops to $13.30, and before and after school care replaces long day care on school days.
A child in our Preschool room, the year before kindergarten, stays on the long day care cap of $15.19 until they start school.
Children who turn 6 before starting school also move to the school-age cap from their birthday.
Watch the sibling rate around this time too. The higher rate for a younger child only applies while two or more of your children in care are 5 or younger, so it stops when the older child turns 6 or leaves care. Check your percentages after the change.
Many families keep a younger sibling with us while the older one starts school. Our before and after school care program can cover the school-age child too.
What changes at school
- Hourly cap
- $15.19 to $13.30
- Care type
- Before and after school care
- Sibling rate
- May change
Deadlines and back-pay rules
There is no fixed number of days to report a change, but Services Australia asks for it as soon as possible, and changes can take up to two weeks to flow through to your subsidy. Report late and you risk being overpaid, which you must repay, or missing out on arrears or top-ups you would otherwise have received.
The safest habit is to update your details the same week something changes, online through myGov or the Express Plus Centrelink app.
Changes that raise your subsidy, like a drop in income, are worth reporting fast, because the higher rate usually only applies once it is processed.
Changes that lower it, like a pay rise, are worth reporting fast too, so the difference is taken fortnight by fortnight instead of as a debt.
Whatever happens during the year, you must still confirm your income after 30 June, usually within a year, or your subsidy stops.
Questions about your days or statements are always welcome on (02) 7238 8668. For the rest of the centre, visit our home page.
Timing at a glance
- Report
- As soon as possible
- Takes effect
- Up to 2 weeks
- Late report
- Debt or lost top-ups
- Year end
- Confirm income
Same week habitChanging circumstances, answered
How fast must I report?+
You should report a change as soon as possible; Services Australia does not set a grace period for CCS changes. Reporting in the same week keeps your fortnightly subsidy accurate, avoids an overpayment you would have to repay, and protects any arrears or top-ups you are owed.
Will my subsidy stop immediately?+
No, reporting a change does not usually stop your subsidy; it adjusts the amount. Changes can take up to two weeks to take effect. Your subsidy only stops if you are no longer eligible, for example if care arrangements drop below 14%, or if you do not confirm your income after the financial year.
Can changes be backdated?+
Some can, but you should not rely on it. Services Australia warns that if it is not told about a change, it may not be able to pay arrears or top-ups you are owed. Income changes are always reconciled at balancing, but reporting promptly is the only way to get the right amount each fortnight.
We can adjust as your family does
Changing days, adding a sibling or starting school: talk to our team about what fits.