Australian families dealing with strong rises in childcare costs just learned that Centrelink will raise the Child Care Subsidy (CCS) for 2025—and by a hefty $1,018. This is one of the largest boosts to the program in several years and is timed perfectly for parents facing rising expenses due to inflation and a shaky economy.
Who Gets the Extra Help?
The newly raised payment is aimed at families who use approved childcare services. To qualify, parents must pass a Centrelink review that looks at yearly income, minimum work or study hours, and current CCS enrolment. Anyone already getting the regular subsidy will be automatically checked for the extra payment. Families who haven’t started the subsidy process yet should log into myGov and check if they can sign up.
Parents with more than one child in care gain the biggest lift, because the $1,018 is available for each child. This is a key point: the extra funding is not a single family cap but a separate payment for every child in the approved program. The income limits stay the same, but the extra amount will tilt the subsidy in favour of families that are working with lower to middle pay packets.
How and When Payments Will Arrive
Instead of a one-time lump sum, the extra $1018 will come to families through regular fortnightly payments. This means parents will notice a steady drop in their childcare costs over the whole year rather than one big drop. The new payments kick off in July 2025, and families should see the first updated amount hit their bank accounts by the middle of the month.
Addressing the Childcare Affordability Crisis
This increase arrives just in time to help families keep up with rising childcare costs, which keep climbing faster than everyday living expenses. For many Australian parents, childcare is the second most sizable bill they face, right behind their mortgage or rent. Some families are paying over $25,000 a year to care for just one child.
Calculating Your New Benefit
How much extra help you get depends on your total family income, how many children you have in care, and how many hours parents work or study. To work out your new entitlement, check out the up-to-date Payment and Service Finder on the Services Australia website.
Centrelink has also confirmed that this boost will sit on top of other existing supports, such as Family Tax Benefit, so current payments will not be reduced.
These new changes are part of the government’s plan to make childcare cheaper and help more parents join the workforce. Treasury forecasts say that the upgrade could help about 27,000 more parents work full-time, because it will make extra hours of childcare easier to get.