We’ve added two extra local government areas (LGA) to the declared Child Care Subsidy (CCS) period of emergency in parts of Queensland due to the impact of flooding.
The CCS period of emergency applies from Wednesday 29 January 2025 to Tuesday 11 February 2025 in the following local government areas:
- Burdekin Shire Council
- Cairns Regional Council
- Aboriginal Shire of Palm Island
- Townsville City Council
- Hinchinbrook Council
- Cassowary Coast Regional Council.
We continue to monitor the situation and will provide updates as required.
Support during the emergency
The following support is available in affected regions during the CCS period of emergency:
- you can continue to get CCS if your service closes as a direct result of the emergency
- you can waive the gap fee if a child doesn’t attend, or your service is closed, during the CCS period of emergency
- families will get unlimited allowable absences for the duration of the CCS period of emergency.
Read more about support during a CCS period of emergency.
Support after the emergency
The following support may help you recover after an emergency:
- you may be eligible for a Community Child Care Fund special circumstances grant if the emergency threatens your service’s ability to stay open after the event, and you have already accessed other disaster support
- families may be able to access additional absences if they’ve exhausted their allowable absences
- families may be eligible for Additional Child Care Subsidy if they experience temporary financial hardship due to an emergency that happened in the last 6 months.
Read more about support after an emergency.
Other disaster support
You may be eligible for other government disaster support:
- The Australian Government provides help for people affected by natural disasters. Find out whether you're eligible on the Services Australia website.
- Your state or territory government may provide additional support in the event of a natural disaster. Find out more at https://www.qld.gov.au/emergency.
For action
- Tell us as soon as possible if you close your service. Do this via the Provider Entry Point (PEP) or your third-party software. You also need to tell your state or territory regulatory authority.
- Update your contact details in the Child Care Subsidy System so you don’t miss important information. Do this via the PEP or your third-party software.
- Update your vacancy details on StartingBlocks.gov.au to help families looking for care. Do this via the PEP or your third-party software.
- Join our Facebook group for alerts and updates.
- Keep an eye on qld.gov.au/emergency for current emergency information in your region.