The CCS Activity Test Explained
If you are searching for the CCS activity test, here is the most useful thing to know: it no longer decides whether you get subsidised care. Since 5 January 2026, no eligible family drops below a floor of 72 subsidised hours a fortnight for each child in care. Your work, study and other recognised participation now only decides whether you move up to 100 hours. This guide explains the old test, the new rules and what counts.
This guide suits parents returning from leave, working casual or irregular shifts, studying, looking for work or caring for someone, who want to know how many hours of care the government will help pay for. It covers what the old test did, what counts as recognised participation, the hours table before and after January 2026, how couples are assessed, the exemptions that lead to 100 hours, and how to update your details.
For percentages, hourly caps and the rest of the subsidy, see our full Child Care Subsidy guide.
What the activity test is
The CCS activity test was the rule that linked how many hours of subsidised childcare a family could get to how many hours the parents spent working, studying, training or doing other recognised activities. It sat alongside the income test: income set your percentage, while activity set your hours. It was replaced on 5 January 2026.
Under the old test, a parent with fewer than 8 hours of activity a fortnight could receive no subsidised hours at all if family income was above $85,279.
The test arrived with the Child Care Subsidy itself in July 2018, replacing an older system that gave every family some hours of help regardless of work.
That created a trap. A parent looking for work or retraining often could not afford care, which made it harder to find work or finish study.
The replacement guarantees a base of 72 hours a fortnight to every eligible family, and keeps recognised participation only for deciding who gets the higher 100-hour level.
Behind the change is a simple idea: children benefit from early learning whatever their parents' work situation, so a child's access to a few days of care should not depend on a parent's roster.
Services Australia now calls activity recognised participation. You will see both terms around, and they mean the same things.
The test never affected your subsidy percentage. A family with high participation and a high income still received a low percentage; the test only ever decided how many hours that percentage applied to.
The old levels still matter for one reason: if Services Australia reviews a period before 5 January 2026, such as at balancing, the old rules apply to that period.
Two tests, two jobs
- Income
- Sets your percentage
- Participation
- Sets 72 or 100 hours
- Old test
- Could mean 0 hours
- Now
- Never less than 72
A fairer baseWhat counts as recognised activity
Recognised activity, now called recognised participation, includes paid work and self-employment, paid or unpaid leave including parental leave, unpaid work in a family business, unpaid work experience, approved study, job training, actively looking for work, mutual obligation requirements for income support, and caring hours for Carer Allowance. Some types count only for a limited time.
Work
- Paid work or self-employment
- Unpaid work in a family business
- Unpaid work experience or internship
Learning and job seeking
- An approved course of study
- Training to improve job prospects
- Actively looking for work
Leave and caring
- Paid or unpaid parental leave
- Mutual obligation requirements
- Caring hours for Carer Allowance
Parental leave counts at the hours you worked before your leave started, as long as you are expected to go back to work afterwards. That lets you settle an older child into care while on leave with a baby.
A worked example: a parent who worked 38 hours a week before going on parental leave is counted at 76 hours a fortnight while on leave. If their partner also works more than 48 hours a fortnight, the family receives 100 subsidised hours for an older child in care.
Self-employed parents count the hours they actually work in the business, including the admin, quoting and bookkeeping that keep it running, not just billable hours.
Time limits apply to some types. Other unpaid leave counts for up to 6 months, setting up a new business for up to 13 fortnights in a 12 month period, and if volunteering or job seeking is your only participation, just the first 16 hours count.
Mutual obligation hours for payments like JobSeeker or Parenting Payment are reported as their own type, separate from any paid work. A parent who does both simply adds the two totals together.
Reasonable travel time between childcare and your work or study counts too. A parent whose job is a 30 minute drive from the centre, with care on four days a fortnight, can add four hours.
Volunteering counts when it is genuine unpaid work for a community organisation, charity or school, rather than informal help for friends. Keep a note of your hours if you rely on it.
Other activities can be considered case by case, so if yours is not listed, ask Services Australia rather than assuming it does not count.
The activity levels and hours table
From 5 January 2026 there are only two levels: 72 subsidised hours a fortnight for families where either parent does 48 hours or less of recognised participation, and 100 hours when each parent does more than 48 hours, or an exemption applies. Before that date, there were four levels, starting at zero hours.
| Participation each fortnight | Before 5 Jan 2026 | From 5 Jan 2026 | Full days at 11 hours |
|---|---|---|---|
| Under 8 hours | 0, or 24 on lower incomes | 72 | 3 a week |
| 8 to 16 hours | 36 | 72 | 3 a week |
| 16 to 48 hours | 72 | 72 | 3 a week |
| More than 48 hours | 100 | 100 | 4 a week, plus 12 hours |
Read the last column with care. At a centre with 11-hour sessions, 72 hours covers three days a week with 6 hours to spare across the fortnight, and 100 hours covers four days a week with 12 hours spare. Five days a week needs 110 hours, so part of a fifth day is always paid at the full fee.
The lower-income 24 hours in the old table applied to families earning $85,279 or less. That concession no longer matters, because everyone now starts at 72.
Here is how it plays out for a real booking. A family with one parent working full time and the other working two days a week, about 30 hours a fortnight, receives 72 hours. That covers three days a week at Lead. If they wanted a fourth day, the extra 22 hours each fortnight would be charged at the full fee, unless the second parent's hours rose above 48.
Hours apply to each child separately. Two children in care each receive their own 72 or 100 hours.
The entitlement follows your child, not the centre. If your child attends two services, for example long day care on some days and a family day care educator on others, the hours at both come out of the same fortnightly total.
Hours are counted per fortnight and do not carry over. Unused hours in a quiet fortnight cannot be saved for a busy one.
Source: Services Australia, recognised participation and activity test.
How couples are assessed
For couples, Services Australia looks at each parent's recognised participation and uses the lower of the two to set the family's hours. To get 100 hours, both parents must each do more than 48 hours a fortnight. If one parent does 70 hours and the other 30, the family receives 72 hours.
Every type of participation a parent does adds together. A parent who works 29 hours and does 25 hours of mutual obligation activities has 54 hours in total, which clears the 48-hour mark.
Caring hours can count as well. A single parent who works 15 hours a fortnight and spends 36 hours caring for a child with a disability, receiving Carer Allowance, reaches 51 hours and qualifies for 100.
Where one parent does not work at all, the family now sits at 72 hours. That is the same as a family where both parents work part time, which is one of the clearest effects of the change.
A partner on parental leave still counts at their pre-leave hours, which often keeps a family at 100 hours while a new baby is at home and an older child is in care.
Single parents are assessed on their own participation only.
When a new partner joins the household, their participation and income count too, so update your details when your circumstances change.
Shift-working couples are counted on total hours across the fortnight, not per day. Two nurses on rotating rosters who each work around 64 hours a fortnight both clear the mark, even if some weeks are lighter than others.
Separated parents who each claim for their own care days are each assessed on their own household.
Couple examples
- 70 and 30 hours
- 72 hours
- 50 and 50 hours
- 100 hours
- 80 and 0 hours
- 72 hours
- Single, 50 hours
- 100 hours
The lower one countsExemptions from the test
Some families receive 100 subsidised hours a fortnight without meeting the 48-hour mark. Exemptions cover parents with a disability or medical condition that prevents participation, carers receiving Carer Payment, grandparents with 65% or more care of a grandchild, parents temporarily overseas for up to six weeks, and families in exceptional circumstances such as family and domestic violence.
Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander children receive 100 hours per fortnight regardless of their parents' participation.
Exemptions sit with the parent, not the centre, so they follow you if you change services or add a second child to care.
A child who received Additional Child Care Subsidy for child wellbeing for six months or more may keep 100 hours for 18 months after that payment ends, assessed case by case.
Parents in prison or psychiatric confinement in relation to an offence are also covered.
If you are experiencing family and domestic violence, Services Australia has social workers who can help, and you do not need to have every detail sorted before you call. Your safety comes first.
Exceptional circumstances, including serious illness, are assessed individually by the Centrelink families line.
Services Australia may ask for evidence to support an exemption, such as a medical certificate or confirmation of a Carer Payment. Have it ready when you call, as it speeds up the assessment.
If you think an exemption applies, call and explain your situation. Our guide to Additional Child Care Subsidy covers the extra help available in some of these situations.
100 hours without the 48-hour mark
- Disability or medical condition
- Carer Payment
- Grandparent with 65% care
- Overseas up to 6 weeks
- Exceptional circumstances
- First Nations children
Ask if unsureHow the 3 Day Guarantee changes this
The 3 Day Guarantee is the policy that replaced the activity test on 5 January 2026. It sets a floor of 72 subsidised hours per child each fortnight for every eligible family, which is enough for three full days of long day care a week. Participation now only matters if you want more than that.
The biggest winners are families where one parent works little or not at all, who previously received between zero and 36 hours.
For a St Ives family booking three days a week, the jump from 36 to 72 hours covers about one and a half days a week that would otherwise have been charged at our full $170 fee.
At services with shorter sessions, such as 10 hours, the same 72 hours stretches a little further across the fortnight, but the principle is the same: roughly three days a week for every family.
Families already working more than 48 hours each see no change: they had 100 hours before and still do.
It also removes a lot of paperwork stress. Parents in casual or seasonal work no longer need to worry that a quiet fortnight will cut their subsidised hours below three days.
The guarantee does not change your subsidy percentage, the hourly rate cap or your gap fee. It only changes how many hours are subsidised.
We explain the guarantee in more depth, with family scenarios, in our 3 Day Guarantee guide.
Who gained most
- Under 8 hours
- From 0 to 72 hours
- 8 to 16 hours
- From 36 to 72 hours
- 16 to 48 hours
- No change, 72
- Over 48 each
- No change, 100
Three days for allUpdating your activity level
You update your recognised participation in your Centrelink online account through myGov, the Express Plus Centrelink app or phone self service. Do it whenever your hours change in a way that moves you across the 48-hour line, such as starting a new job, going back from leave or finishing a course.
If your hours vary, give an estimate based on the highest number of hours you expect to work in a fortnight over the next three months. A parent whose shifts range from 15 to 45 hours a fortnight declares 45.
After you update, Services Australia sends a notice to your myGov inbox confirming your new hours. Keep it with your records in case you need to check a statement later.
Report changes promptly. A rise in hours that sits unreported can leave you paying the full fee for time you could have had subsidised, and a fall that goes unreported can create a debt.
Centres cannot see or change your participation details; only you can, through Services Australia. What we can see is how many subsidised hours apply to your child, which shows on your statement, so check it after any change.
Returning from parental leave? You were already counted at your pre-leave hours, so you usually only need to update if those hours are changing.
Starting a new job soon? You can report the expected hours from your start date, so your subsidised hours are ready when you need them.
If you book more days than your hours cover, the extra hours are charged at the full fee. Check your hours before adding regular days with us, and ask our team on (02) 7238 8668 if you are unsure how your booking fits.
Everything else about the centre, from rooms to enrolment, starts on our St Ives childcare home page.
Update when you
- Start or leave a job
- Change your regular hours
- Start or finish study
- Return from leave
- Gain or lose an exemption
Report changes earlyThe activity test, answered
Does study count as activity?+
Yes, an approved course of education or study counts as recognised participation, and so does training that improves your work skills or job prospects. Study hours add to any work hours you do. If each parent's total is over 48 hours a fortnight, your family receives 100 subsidised hours rather than 72.
What if my hours change weekly?+
If your hours change from week to week, give Services Australia the highest number of hours you expect to work in a fortnight over the next three months. Update the estimate in myGov if your pattern changes, so your subsidised hours stay accurate and you avoid paying full fees unnecessarily.
Is there a minimum?+
No, there is no minimum any more. Since 5 January 2026, the floor for every eligible family is 72 subsidised hours a fortnight per child, even with no recognised participation. You only need more than 48 hours each, or an exemption, to receive the higher level of 100 hours.
Does parental leave count?+
Yes, paid and unpaid parental leave both count as recognised participation, as long as you are expected to return to work. Services Australia counts you at the hours you worked before your leave started, so settling an older child into care while you are home with a baby does not reduce your subsidised hours.
Do I need to prove my hours?+
Usually you declare your hours yourself when you claim or update your details, but Services Australia can ask for evidence, such as payslips, a letter from your employer or proof of enrolment in a course. Keep records, especially if your hours vary, so you can support your estimate if asked.
Three days a week, subsidised
Tour the centre and we will help you choose days that fit your subsidised hours.