The Australian Government will provide a one-off $10,000 payment to early childhood education and care services (ECEC) affected by ex-Tropical Cyclone Alfred.
In the 2025–26 Budget, the Australian Government has committed additional support for providers and families affected by ex-Tropical Cyclone Alfred.
The ex-Tropical Cyclone Alfred support payment will be available for Child Care Subsidy (CCS) approved services that:
- are in a local government area (LGA) covered by a CCS period of emergency in relation to ex-Tropical Cyclone Alfred
- closed, or partially closed, for 8 days or more during the period of emergency
- agree to waive gap fees for families while closed during the period of emergency.
The payment will be available to all service types, including Centre Based Day Care, Outside School Hours Care, Family Day Care and In Home Care.
We will provide more information to providers of services in the affected LGAs soon.
To make sure we know if your service is in one of the affected LGAs, please ensure you have updated your contact details in the Child Care Subsidy System via the Provider Entry Point (PEP) or your third-party software.
See our website for more information on the:
- regions and timeframes where the period of emergency applies
- details of other support available during and after a period of emergency.
Support for families
Families in affected regions can receive unlimited additional absences. This means they will not exhaust their ordinary allocation of subsidised absences for the year as a result of the emergency.
Families who need extra help with the cost of child care may be eligible for Additional Child Care Subsidy (ACCS) temporary financial hardship which usually covers the full cost of child care for up to 100 hours of care per fortnight, for up to 13 weeks.