From 4 December 2025, changes to the A New Tax System (Family Assistance) (Administration) Act 1999 came into effect.
These changes impact the timing of Child Care Subsidy (CCS) reconciliation decisions. Further details of the amendments can be found here: Education Legislation Amendment (Integrity and Other Measures) Bill 2025
CCS reconciliation ensures individuals receive the correct CCS entitlement for a financial year. This is a key part of program integrity.
The government introduced the date of effect measure to align timing of reconciliation eligibility and entitlement decisions with how the CCS system operates and to deliver on its policy intent.
For more information about CCS reconciliation, see Balancing payments - Department of Education, Australian Government
Why was the change required?
The change fixed an inconsistency for the timing of reconciliation decisions.
Before the change, some individuals may have been:
- overpaid CCS
- underpaid CCS, or
- a combination of both.
This may be for up to two weeks of CCS entitlement for each instance where an individual:
- has not met the CCS reconciliation conditions. For example, where an individual did not lodge their tax return or advise Services Australia that they did not need to lodge a tax return, by the first deadline.
- had their CCS entitlement re-instated by meeting the reconciliation conditions after missing the first deadline.
- made a new CCS claim after their eligibility was cancelled because they missed the second deadline, but later met the reconciliation conditions.
Will this change the CCS reconciliation process?
No. The process for reconciliation remains the same.
The date of effect for reconciliation decisions will continue to be the first Monday of the next CCS fortnight.
Who does this change affect?
In most cases, affected individuals would have received too much CCS.
Individuals who did not receive enough CCS, would have initially received too much CCS.
The changes apply to legislation retrospectively from 2018. If you received too much CCS (through no fault of your own), you do not need to repay it. No action will be taken to recover overpayments.
The department is committed to supporting individuals who may have been negatively affected by the previous misalignment in dates.
If you believe you may have been negatively affected, please contact dateofeffectsupport@education.gov.au
If you have feedback or would like to make a complaint, see Making a complaint to the department - Department of Education, Australian Government.
What this means for parents and carers
No action is required, unless you believe you may have been negatively affected.
What this means for providers
No action is required.
Providers may wish to refer parents or carers to the department for more information.