Child care rebate question

[briggsy's girl]

you can qualify for CCR provided you meet the test for at least one hour per week - you only need to be meeting the 15 hour amount to get more than 24 hours of subsidised care per week.

if you are a job seeker, keep good records of jobs applied for, time spent online looking for jobs, interviews attended - if you are ever audited, you can drag your diary out to show what you did and when.

[Just Me]

So if I am volunteering for one hour per week somewhere, does that mean I qualify for CCR for less than 24 hours per week? Or do I need to be doing volunteer work for 15 hours per week?

I am doing some volunteer work for a few hours a week but there is no way I can fit in 15 hours so I never bothered checking.

[FabFiona]

Just Me - This is from the FAO website. I guess it depends if your volunteering is to 'improve work skills'.

If your volunteering work is to 'improve work skills' then my reading is yes you would be eligible.

If your volunteering work is not to 'improve work skills' then you will need to do it for 15 hours per week to be eligible.

What is a work related commitment?
This is one or more of these activities:

paid work or self employment
setting up a business
training or studying
looking for work
voluntary work to improve your work skills*
Note: The time you spend in work related activities can be combined with other work related activities to meet the 15 hours per week requirements. Voluntary work that does not improve work skills cannot be combined with other activities and must be undertaken for at least 15 hours a week or 30 hours a fortnight.

[Just Me]

Thanks

[briggsy's girl]

Just Me - This is from the FAO website. I guess it depends if your volunteering is to 'improve work skills'.

If your volunteering work is to 'improve work skills' then my reading is yes you would be eligible.

for those that have been out of the workforce for long periods of time, pretty much ANY volunteer work is going to improve their employability really. A stay at home mum that hasn't worked for 10 years goes into her kidlets school tuck shop - she adds money handling skills, she adds time management skills, she adds interaction and communication skills. and she adds a line on her resume rather than a gaping hole. it might be stuff she can do with her eyes closed because she manages a family budget and a house full of people on a daily basis - but it's not generally recognised by an employer unfortunately. this sort of thing gets them into the work force, and the fact they haven't been told to go away, they're doing a crummy job, don't come back - yes, it increases their work skills in a big way!

increasing your skills does not have to be with an aim to skill up for one particular career - some skills are universal. yes, they might be totally unrelated roles in theory, but things like computer skills, time management, interpersonal skills, RELIABILITY - they cross all barriers.

the criteria FF has quoted are for the CCB for OVER 24 hours per week - the criteria for CCR is different. it's only a single hour per week (well, technically it is SOME TIME during the week - it tends to be clarified as one hour for records purposes)

From FAO site

Can I get the Child Care Rebate?

There are certain requirements you must meet to get the Child Care Rebate.

You must have:

used approved child care during the year;
been eligible for Child Care Benefit (entitled at a rate of zero or more)*;
passed the work, training, study test at some time during the week the approved care was provided[3].

*Note: There is no income test for the Child Care Rebate. If you are eligible for Child Care Benefit, but your Child Care Benefit entitlement is zero due to income, you may still be eligible for the Child Care Rebate.

voluntary work to improve your work skills*
Note: The time you spend in work related activities can be combined with other work related activities to meet the 15 hours per week requirements. Voluntary work that does not improve work skills cannot be combined with other activities and must be undertaken for at least 15 hours a week or 30 hours a fortnight.

this clarification is only stating that you can't work for 10 hours, throw in five hours of random volunteer work, and expect to get 50 hours of child care per week


it is generally expected that any volunteer work is undertaken with an approved organisation as well