Hourly rate caps and the gap fee
Your CCS percentage is only half the story. The other half is the hourly rate cap: the maximum hourly amount the government will subsidise for each type of care. Your percentage is applied to the lower of your provider's hourly fee and the cap. Anything your provider charges above the cap comes out of your pocket in full, on top of the normal gap.
The 2026-27 hourly rate caps
| Care type | Below school age | School age |
|---|---|---|
| Centre based day care | $15.19 | $13.30 |
| Outside school hours care | $15.19 | $13.30 |
| Family day care | $14.08 | $14.08 |
| In home care | $41.31 per family per hour | |
These caps apply from 6 July 2026 for the 2026-27 financial year. They are indexed each July. In home care is capped per family, not per child, because the educator cares for the family's children together in the home.
Why the gap fee surprises families
Take two families, both at 90%, both using centre based day care for a child below school age. Family A uses a centre charging $14 an hour: the subsidy is $12.60 an hour and the gap is $1.40. Family B uses a centre charging $19 an hour: the subsidy is still capped at 90% of $15.19, which is $13.67, and the gap is $5.33 an hour, nearly four times larger. Same percentage, very different bill. When you compare services, always ask for the hourly fee and compare it with the cap: the difference is the part of the bill no subsidy will ever cover.
What else can appear on the bill?
Services may charge amounts outside the hourly fee, such as enrolment fees, late fees, or charges for extras. Those amounts are generally not subsidised. Hours you use above your subsidised hours are charged at the full fee. And 5% of your subsidy is withheld by default until balancing, which makes the fortnightly bill slightly higher than the headline percentage suggests. The balancing page explains withholding in full. If a bill looks wrong, ask your service for an itemised statement showing the fee, the cap applied, the percentage applied, the hours subsidised, and the withholding, and compare each line with your Centrelink record.
Sources: Services Australia, Child Care Subsidy hourly rate cap guidance, 2026-27.