This bill became law on Jun 28th, 2023.
Education & skills
Child care providers, not families, must repay Child Care SubsidyThe government payment that helps cover child care fees, and is the subsidy this bill changes the debt rules for. wrongly claimed for days before a child first attends or after a child last attends a service.
Child care providers were claiming Child Care SubsidyThe government payment that helps cover child care fees, and is the subsidy this bill changes the debt rules for. for place-holding days before a child started or after they stopped, leaving families to lose absence days and face debts for provider reporting errors. The bill shifts those debts to providers, while families still repay the small withheld share of subsidy.
Since Child Care SubsidyThe government payment that helps cover child care fees, and is the subsidy this bill changes the debt rules for. began in July 2018, providers have been paid directly based on their enrolment and attendance reports, but gaps in the law meant families could lose allowable absenceAn absence day that still counts for subsidy purposes, up to the annual limit, if it falls within the rules for a child already attending care. days or face debts when providers claimed subsidy for place-holding days before a child started or after they stopped. After the government said those errors had recently been identified, following earlier 2022 changes for exceptional circumstances, this 2023 bill confirmed that providers repay those overpayments while families still cover the small withheld share, and it became law in June 2023.
The main reservation was that this was only a technical debt-recovery fix and did not address bigger childcare problems such as affordability, fee rises, regional access or flexible care. Those broader concerns were raised while the Coalition still backed the bill, and no party represented in the debate opposed its core changes.
Anne Aly MP introduced this bill. It passed on the voices.
Did it become law?
Yes
Became law 28 June 2023
Final passage
Passed without a counted vote
Members called out ‘aye’ or ‘no’ — no individual votes were recorded.
Passage speed
34 days
From introduction to the latest recorded parliamentary step
Meaning
Child care providers, not families, must repay Child Care SubsidyThe government payment that helps cover child care fees, and is the subsidy this bill changes the debt rules for. wrongly claimed for days before a child first attends or after a child last attends a service.
Families keep their 42 allowed absence days for genuine absences, instead of losing them to place-holding days before care starts or notice-period days after care stops.
Families may still have to repay the small withheld part of their subsidy, usually 5 per cent, even when the rest of the debt is shifted to the child care provider.
When a child care provider causes an overpayment through false, misleading or non-compliant reporting, the provider must repay that overpaid amount, apart from the withheld share that stays with the family.
These debt rules apply only to care sessions provided on or after the Act starts, not to earlier sessions.
The Bill amends the family assistance legislation to confirm responsibility for certain Child Care Subsidy debts for absences before a child’s first attendance or after a child’s last attendance lies with approved providers. The amendments ensure that families do not incur a debt for absences before a child’s first attendance or after a child’s last attendance. Instead, providers incur the debt because the debt arises due to the provider submitting attendance reports to claim CCS for absences where no CCS should have been paid. The amendments confirm policy and administrative practice in relation to CCS debts for absences before a child’s first attendance and after a child’s last attendance at a service and are otherwise beneficial to individuals and families in that they do not incur the debts directly.Family Assistance Legislation Amendment (Child Care Subsidy) explanatory memorandum
Families are entitled to receive CCS when their child is absent from a session of care they would normally attend, for up to 42 absence days per year. These are known as ‘allowable absences’. For an absence to count as an ‘allowable absence’, the absence day must be after the child’s first physical attendance or before the child’s last physical attendance before they cease being enrolled. Except in limited circumstances, CCS is not payable for absences before the child’s first attendance or after the child’s last attendance. The amendments confirm provider responsibility for debts where CCS has been paid for absences before a child first physically attends a service or after a child last physically attends a service. This ensures that a family’s allocation of allowable absences will not be inappropriately exhausted by sessions of care that children are not likely to attend. For example, CCS cannot be paid where a family is being charged fees to ‘hold’ a child care place before commencing at a service, or where a child has stopped attending a service but the family is still being charged fees during a notice period.Family Assistance Legislation Amendment (Child Care Subsidy) explanatory memorandum
The amendments ensure that an individual does not incur a debt for absences before a child’s first attendance or after a child’s last attendance. Rather, providers incur the debt because the debt arises due to the provider submitting attendance reports to claim CCS for absences where no CCS should have been paid. Families will still be responsible for any debts in respect of the ‘withholding component’ applied to the session of care that was paid to them, as providers do not have the power to access or adjust this component that is withheld from payment. The ‘withholding component’ comprises a small percentage of the individual’s CCS entitlement, generally 5%, that is withheld from the individual in the CCS system to assist the individual reduce the likelihood of the individual receiving an overpayment and incurring a debt.Family Assistance Legislation Amendment (Child Care Subsidy) explanatory memorandum
(b) all or part of the CCS/ACCS amount (the attributable component) is paid to the individual because the provider has:Family Assistance Legislation Amendment (Child Care Subsidy) as-passed bill text
The amendments made by this Schedule apply in relation to a session of care that is provided on a day that occurs on or after the commencement of this Schedule.Family Assistance Legislation Amendment (Child Care Subsidy) as-passed bill text
Context
Since Child Care SubsidyThe government payment that helps cover child care fees, and is the subsidy this bill changes the debt rules for. began in July 2018, providers have been paid directly based on their enrolment and attendance reports, but gaps in the law meant families could lose allowable absenceAn absence day that still counts for subsidy purposes, up to the annual limit, if it falls within the rules for a child already attending care. days or face debts when providers claimed subsidy for place-holding days before a child started or after they stopped. After the government said those errors had recently been identified, following earlier 2022 changes for exceptional circumstances, this 2023 bill confirmed that providers repay those overpayments while families still cover the small withheld share, and it became law in June 2023.
Child Care SubsidyThe government payment that helps cover child care fees, and is the subsidy this bill changes the debt rules for. starts with providers reporting attendance for payment
From July 2018, the Commonwealth paid Child Care SubsidyThe government payment that helps cover child care fees, and is the subsidy this bill changes the debt rules for. to providers based on their enrolment and attendance reports, creating the system in which later debt disputes arose.
Family Assistance Legislation Amendment (Child Care Subsidy) explanatory memorandum ↗Cheaper Child Care Act extends absence payments in exceptional circumstances
Amendments in Schedule 7 of the Family Assistance Legislation Amendment (Cheaper Child Care) Act 2022 extended subsidy coverage for some pre-start and post-last-attendance absences in exceptional circumstances.
Family Assistance Legislation Amendment (Child Care Subsidy) explanatory memorandum ↗Government says legal errors in CCSThe government payment that helps cover child care fees, and is the subsidy this bill changes the debt rules for. debt recovery dated back to 2018
In introducing the bill, the minister said recently identified legislative errors meant existing Commonwealth recovery processes for some Child Care SubsidyThe government payment that helps cover child care fees, and is the subsidy this bill changes the debt rules for. overpayments were not properly supported by the law.
Hansard ↗Bill introduced to shift certain CCSThe government payment that helps cover child care fees, and is the subsidy this bill changes the debt rules for. debts from families to providers
The bill was introduced to confirm that providers, not families, are liable when subsidy was wrongly claimed for absences before a child's first attendance or after the child's last attendance, apart from the withheld component.
Hansard ↗Parliament passes the bill
Both houses passed the bill, clearing the way for the debt rules to be aligned with the policy and administrative practice already being applied.
Parliamentary timeline ↗Royal AssentThe final approval that turns the bill into an Act and lets the new debt rules begin on commencement. makes the new debt rules law
Royal AssentThe final approval that turns the bill into an Act and lets the new debt rules begin on commencement. turned the bill into an Act so the clarified rule could apply to care sessions provided on or after commencement rather than earlier sessions.
Parliamentary timeline ↗Legislative route
The bill was formally presented to the chamber and read a first time, which starts its parliamentary journey.
Introduced and read a first time
A minister or sponsoring member moved the second reading, opening the main debate on the bill's purpose and principles.
Second reading moved
The bill reached this recorded parliamentary step.
The chamber agreed to the bill at second reading, meaning it accepted the bill in principle and allowed it to continue.
Second reading agreed to
The chamber agreed to the bill at third reading, which completed passage through that chamber.
Third reading agreed to
The bill was formally presented to the chamber and read a first time, which starts its parliamentary journey.
Introduced and read a first time
A minister or sponsoring member moved the second reading, opening the main debate on the bill's purpose and principles.
Second reading moved
The chamber agreed to the bill at second reading, meaning it accepted the bill in principle and allowed it to continue.
Second reading agreed to
The chamber agreed to the bill at third reading, which completed passage through that chamber.
Third reading agreed to
Both houses passed the bill in the same form, completing parliamentary passage.
Finally passed both Houses
The Governor-General gave Royal AssentThe final approval that turns the bill into an Act and lets the new debt rules begin on commencement., turning the bill into an Act.
Key criticism
The main reservation was that this was only a technical debt-recovery fix and did not address bigger childcare problems such as affordability, fee rises, regional access or flexible care. Those broader concerns were raised while the Coalition still backed the bill, and no party represented in the debate opposed its core changes.
No significant public case against the bill itself is recorded so far.
Votes
The bill passed both chambers on the voices, so there is no list of individual Aye and No votes for final passage.
House agreed to the bill's third reading on the voices, so there is no list of individual Aye and No votes for final passage in that chamber.
Passed on the voices
In a voice vote, members call out Aye or No and the presiding officer judges which side has it. Individual names are only recorded if a formal division is called.
Senate agreed to the bill's third reading on the voices, so there is no list of individual Aye and No votes for final passage in that chamber.
Passed on the voices
In a voice vote, members call out Aye or No and the presiding officer judges which side has it. Individual names are only recorded if a formal division is called.
Parliamentary debate
Start here — lead voices
Anne Aly supports the bill, saying it fixes drafting errors in the child care subsidyThe government payment that helps cover child care fees, and is the subsidy this bill changes the debt rules for. rules and brings the law into line with existing practice so overpayments can be recovered properly.
Read in Hansard ↗Angie Bell says the coalition will support the bill because it fixes administrative errors in how childcare subsidy overpayments are recovered and better clarifies who is responsible for debts.
Read in Hansard ↗Malarndirri McCarthy supports the bill, saying it corrects errors in the child care subsidyThe government payment that helps cover child care fees, and is the subsidy this bill changes the debt rules for. recovery rules and aligns the law with long-standing practice.
Read in Hansard ↗All speeches by bloc
2 speakers · 3 contributions · 2 support
“This bill rectifies those errors and aligns the legislation to long-standing policy and practice. It confirms who is responsible for the repayment of overpaid amounts of CCS subsidy and provides further clarity for providers and families.”Read the full speech in Hansard ↗
Hansard records 2 separate contributions by Anne Aly, including an amendment-moving contribution. They are grouped here so the speaker is listed once.
Moved amendment
Anne Aly supports the bill, saying it fixes drafting errors in the child care subsidyThe government payment that helps cover child care fees, and is the subsidy this bill changes the debt rules for. rules and brings the law into line with existing practice so overpayments can be recovered properly. She says the changes are important for the integrity of the system and for providing clarity to providers and families.
“This bill rectifies those errors and aligns the legislation to longstanding policy and practice. It confirms who is responsible for the repayment of overpaid amounts of CCS and provides further clarity for providers and families.”Read this contribution in Hansard ↗
Second reading speech
Anne Aly supports the bill, saying it will align family assistance law with existing practice, clarify who must repay overpaid child care subsidyThe government payment that helps cover child care fees, and is the subsidy this bill changes the debt rules for. amounts, and improve the integrity of the subsidy system. She also welcomes the opposition's support and commends the bill to the House.
“I thank the member for her contribution to the debate on the Family Assistance Legislation Amendment (Child Care Subsidy) Bill 2023. This bill will align family assistance legislation with longstanding policy and practice. It will confirm who is responsible for the repayment of overpaid amounts of CCS subsidy and provide further clarity for providers and families. Where an error in existing legislation is identified it is important that we act swiftly, and that is what this government has done with this bill. I welcome the opposition's support for the measures in this bill—they are important measures which will improve the integrity of the childcare subsidy system and ensure that recovery of payments is made appropriately. I commend the bill to the House.”Read this contribution in Hansard ↗
1 speaker · 1 support
“As a constructive opposition, we've always said that we will assess each of the Albanese government's proposals on its merits. The Family Assistance Legislation Amendment (Child Care Subsidy) Bill 2023 seeks to amend the A New Tax System (Family Assistance) (Administration) Act 1999 to correct administrative errors regarding the way overpayments of the childcare subsidy are recovered by the Commonwealth government. These errors were unintended, and these amendments will ensure the legislation matches up with the policy and practice of recovering childcare subsidy overpayments. The government has assured the coalition that this will not change the way overpayments are collected, and so the coalition will be supporting this bill.”Read the full speech in Hansard ↗
Record
House · Introduced and read a first time
Introduced
The bill was formally presented to the chamber and read a first time, which starts its parliamentary journey.
House · Second reading moved
Second reading opened
A minister or sponsoring member moved the second reading, opening the main debate on the bill's purpose and principles.
House · Second reading debate
Second reading debate
The bill reached this recorded parliamentary step.
House · Second reading agreed to
Second reading agreed
The chamber agreed to the bill at second reading, meaning it accepted the bill in principle and allowed it to continue.
House · Third reading agreed to
Third reading agreed
The chamber agreed to the bill at third reading, which completed passage through that chamber.
Senate · Introduced and read a first time
Introduced
The bill was formally presented to the chamber and read a first time, which starts its parliamentary journey.
Senate · Second reading moved
Second reading opened
A minister or sponsoring member moved the second reading, opening the main debate on the bill's purpose and principles.
Senate · Second reading agreed to
Second reading agreed
The chamber agreed to the bill at second reading, meaning it accepted the bill in principle and allowed it to continue.
Senate · Third reading agreed to
Third reading agreed
The chamber agreed to the bill at third reading, which completed passage through that chamber.
Parliament · Finally passed both Houses
Passed both houses
Both houses passed the bill in the same form, completing parliamentary passage.
Assent · Assent
Assent
The Governor-General gave Royal AssentThe final approval that turns the bill into an Act and lets the new debt rules begin on commencement., turning the bill into an Act.
