Child care rebate question

I rang my child care today because I wanted to know what my new fees for DS and DD1 are since DH's income has now decreased by $12,000 pa. I talked to the director.

She told me the new amount and then asked me about my rebate amount. I told her that I wasn't eligible for the rebate because I don't work.

She then told me that I should be getting it because DH is working, and we could put the kids in care under his name, and then we would get the rebate - and that other families do this at the moment :o

That's not right is it?

You only get the rebate if BOTH parents (or if you are single) working/studying/training etc

I can get the rebate and I'm not working. I think I was entitled to 10hours a week with a rebate with just DH working... Ring FAO, they will ask the hours he works and do the assessment on the phone, or they did when I stopped working when I had MJ...
Hopefully they can backdate it for you!


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you get child care BENEFIT if you're not working/studying/training - NOT childcare rebate

if your childcare centre is advising people of this, they are advising them to defraud the government and if it's found out, it may trigger a review (and potentially massive debts) for all their parents

it doesn't matter who has CCB in their name - BOTH parents MUST qualify

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You only get the rebate if BOTH parents (or if you are single) working/studying/training etc

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Thats what I thought....

SJ - I can get up to 24 hours daycare a week, and at the moment the kids go once a week because we can't afford any more than that since DH lost a days work every week from now on. But nothing has ever been said about the rebate, I used to get it because I had the store so I did dedicate certain hours to that every week, but since I closed the store down, I don't think I get it? or am entitled to it?

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you get child care BENEFIT if you're not working/studying/training - NOT childcare rebate

if your childcare centre is advising people of this, they are advising them to defraud the government and if it's found out, it may trigger a review (and potentially massive debts) for all their parents

it doesn't matter who has CCB in their name - BOTH parents MUST qualify

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Thanks BG, I thought it was wrong!! LOL

Gawd, I don't know if they are telling anyone else this, they suggested it because they know other people do it. tsk tsk.

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Thanks BG, I thought it was wrong!! LOL

Gawd, I don't know if they are telling anyone else this, they suggested it because they know other people do it. tsk tsk.

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I don't think people would get away with it though, as BG said, regardless of whether the child is under mum or dad (and it's usually just whoever fills out the first paperwork after birth) you still need to pass the requirements to qualify. I have children registered under both, and they only get CCR if they qualify.

Oh, maybe I was confused about the two :redface:


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I'm quite confused with the who gets the rebate, who doesn't, and I think some Centrelink people are to. We've been getting the rebate for a while, but I'm really unsure that we actually qualify, although when I've phoned, they've told me I do.
I was getting the rebate as I was a Tupperware manager, and that classed as my 15+hours a week. When I stopped being a manager, I rang up and the person I spoke to said it didn't matter, I would still receive the rebate, which I thought was wrong, but that's what they told me. When I rang in Feb to update DH's income, I said I was no longer doing any Tupperware, but I was looking for work, but that it was probably taking less than 15hours of my time, but again, got told that it didn't matter, as long as I was doing something. I'm dreading getting a fine, but I've queried it on 3 occasions now, and still get told that I'll receive the rebate.

how many hours/subjects do you need to be studying to qualify?

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.

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.

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.

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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.

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Thanks :)

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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.

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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

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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.

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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.

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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