At the end of each financial year Services Australia compares a family’s income estimate with their actual income to check they got the right amount of Child Care Subsidy (CCS). This process is called balancing. Families need to confirm their income for balancing to occur
On this page:
What is balancing
The balancing process is a matter between families and Services Australia.
You may notice a change to the amount of CCS you receive on behalf of a family after Services Australia balances payments.
You will also need to charge full fees to families if their CCS stops.
After a financial year ends, the Child Care Subsidy System (CCSS) will close for that year. If a family’s CCS has been balanced, any changes you make to session reports for a previous financial year will be:
- be raised as a debt with the provider if the changes result in a reduction to CCS entitlement, or
- be paid directly to the family if the changes result in an increase to CCS entitlement.
- If your families have any questions regarding the balancing process, please direct them to Services Australia.
We provide an overview on balancing below and some useful resources to help you guide families if they have questions.
Balancing information for families
Providing an income estimate
Before a financial year starts, families tell Services Australia what they think they’ll earn that year.
This is called an income estimate. Services Australia uses this estimate to work out how much CCS to pay families.
Services Australia contacts families to remind them to provide a new estimate for the next financial year.
If families don’t give a new estimate, Services Australia estimates a family’s income using information from the current year. However, this amount may not be accurate.
If it’s too low, families may get a debt. If it's too high, families may receive less than they’re entitled during the year.
Families can update their estimate at any time during the year if their circumstances change.
Confirming income
After the end of the financial year on 30 June, families need to confirm what they actually earned that year.
Services Australia then compares this with the family’s income estimate.
This is known as balancing, and it is how Services Australia checks that families received the correct amount of CCS.
Families confirm their income by:
- lodging their tax return with the Australian Taxation Office, or
- telling Services Australia they don’t need to lodge a tax return, even if they’ve already told the ATO.
If a parent separates from their partner, Services Australia will also need their ex-partner's income.
If a parent is concerned that their ex-partner won’t lodge their tax return by the deadline, they should call the Families line.
Time limits for confirming income
Families must confirm their family’s income after the end of each financial year. There are time limits for how long they have to do this.
For each financial year, two deadlines apply for confirming income:
- one year after the financial year ends
- two years after the financial year ends.
Families can find out more about the time limits and due dates for confirming income for financial years on the Services Australia website.
Withholding
Services Australia withholds 5% of a family's CCS. If a family receives too much CCS, the withholdings that have been set aside will reduce what they owe at the end of the financial year.
Families can change their withholding percentage up to twice a year using their Centrelink online account through myGov. If families want to change it more than this, they’ll need to call the Families line.
Resources
Share these resources with families.
| Resource | You can… |
|---|---|
| Poster - balancing CCS basics | Display this poster about balancing CCS at your service or share it with your families |
| Video – Balancing CCS | Share this video with families who attend your service |