A broad range of activities meet the activity test requirements, including paid work, self-employment, unpaid work in a family business, active job hunting, volunteering or studying. You can also include reasonable travel time to and from a place of activity to the centre. In two parent families, both parents must meet the activity test, and subsidy hours are calculated on the lower number where parents have different levels of activity. There are exemptions for parents who legitimately cannot meet the activity test requirements. Low income families who do not meet the activity test can access 24 hours of subsidised care per fortnight.
The percentage of subsidy a family receives is based on their estimated combined annual income.
All families wishing to access Child Care Subsidy need to complete an online Child Care Subsidy assessment through their myGov account. Assessment asks families to provide information about their expected combined family income, activity level of parents and types of child care service being used.