Today, the Australian Government introduced legislation to parliament for the direct gap fee collection measure.
From 1 January 2026, Family Day Care (FDC) and In Home Care (IHC) providers must collect Child Care Subsidy (CCS) gap fees directly from families. This means that educators in these services will no longer be able to collect the gap fee themselves on behalf of providers. All gap fees must be paid by EFT (unless an exemption has been granted).
Many FDC and IHC providers already directly collect CCS gap fees. We encourage remaining FDC and IHC services to begin preparing for the transition now to ensure that you are compliant once the requirement takes effect from 1 January 2026.
This change will strengthen the sector by:
- ensuring CCS is correctly administered and that gap fees are being paid as required
- freeing up FDC and IHC educators from the time and effort of collecting fees from families so they can focus on providing education and care for children
- give families, governments and regulators greater confidence in the sector’s viability.
This change is subject to the passage of legislation.
We have partnered with the following organisations to support your transition:
- Family Day Care Australia to support FDC providers
- NSW Family Day Care Association to support IHC providers.
For more information and to access resources, visit:
- Direct Gap Fee Collection Resources from Family Day Care Australia
- In Home Care Direct Gap Fee Collection from NSW Family Day Care Association.