We’ve declared a Child Care Subsidy (CCS) period of emergency nationally following the recall of play sand due to asbestos risks.
The CCS period of emergency applies from 12 to 21 November 2025.
During this period services may be able to claim CCS whilst closed (for enrolled hours during the period only) and families may be able to access gap fee waivers and extra absences.
The person with management or control of an impacted service must contact ccshelpdesk@education.gov.au using the subject line “asbestos incident”.
Provide your service name and ID, along with the following information:
If you were directed to close
A copy of the notice from your regulator directing you to close.
If you voluntarily closed
A copy of your ACECQA closure notification and details on:
- how the emergency impacted your service
- what remediation has taken place.
State and territory regulators have reached out to ECEC providers with information and guidance on disposal. Community Child Care Fund and In Home Care services that are regulated by the Australian Government have been contacted by the department.
For more information, speak to your provider or contact your local regulator.
Support during the emergency
The following support is available to affected services during the CCS period of emergency:
- you can continue to get CCS if your service closes as a direct result of the emergency
- you can waive the gap fee if a child doesn’t attend, or your service is closed, during the CCS period of emergency
- families will get unlimited allowable absences for the duration of the CCS period of emergency.
A gap fee waiver is a type of provider discount. You must report the type and amount of prescribed discounts in session reports if they have been applied for the session.
Affected services can apply to receive support during the CCS period of emergency. This includes services:
- directed to close by their regulators
- that voluntarily closed because of the emergency.
Read more about support during a CCS period of emergency.
Join our Facebook group for alerts and updates.
Recovery after the emergency
Some services may be eligible for a Community Child Care Fund special circumstances grant. Read the eligibility criteria before applying.
Families may be able to access:
- additional absences if they’ve exhausted their allowable absences
- Additional Child Care Subsidy if they experience temporary financial hardship due to an emergency that happened in the last 6 months.
Read more about recovery after an emergency on our website.