ACCS Grandparent Victoria: How to Get Up to 100 Hours of Subsidised Childcare

What ACCS (Grandparent) Actually Provides

The Additional Child Care Subsidy for Grandparents gives you up to 100 hours of subsidised childcare per fortnight at up to 120% of the hourly rate cap. For a grandparent on the pension who is suddenly raising a young child, this can make the difference between affording childcare and going without.

ACCS (Grandparent) is a Commonwealth payment administered by Centrelink. It does not depend on DFFH endorsement, a Children's Court order, or any state-level approval. It runs through the same system as the regular Child Care Subsidy, with a higher subsidy rate and more hours.

The Three Eligibility Criteria

You need to meet all three simultaneously:

1. You receive an eligible income support payment. This includes the Age Pension, Disability Support Pension, JobSeeker Payment, Parenting Payment, Carer Payment, or certain Department of Veterans' Affairs payments. If you are working and not on any income support, you do not qualify for the grandparent stream — though you may still qualify for standard CCS.

2. You provide 65% or more care of the grandchild. Centrelink calculates this based on the number of nights per fortnight. At 65%, that is roughly 10 out of 14 nights. Most grandparents in full-time kinship care easily clear this threshold. If you share care with the parent on a rotating basis, you need to check where your percentage falls.

3. You hold primary day-to-day decision-making responsibility. This means you are the person deciding about the child's schooling, medical care, daily routine, and general welfare — not just providing supervision while a parent makes the calls. Services Australia may ask for evidence confirming your relationship to the child, your percentage of care, and your day-to-day decisions.

How to Apply

If you already receive CCS for your grandchild, apply for ACCS (Grandparent) through your Centrelink online account linked to myGov. If you do not currently receive CCS for your grandchild, submit an online CCS claim; Services Australia will ask questions in that claim to check your ACCS (Grandparent) eligibility.

The steps:

1. Enrol the child at a registered childcare service (long day care, family day care, or out of school hours care)
2. Confirm your Centrelink Reference Number (CRN) with the childcare provider
3. If you already receive CCS, sign in to myGov, select My Family, then under Child care select Additional Child Care Subsidy (grandparent) and follow the prompts. Otherwise, submit an online CCS claim and answer the ACCS questions in that claim.
4. Check the application receipt for any requested documents. Services Australia will send the decision to your myGov Inbox.

If Services Australia requests evidence of your relationship to the child, percentage of care, or day-to-day decisions, provide it within 14 days. A school or GP letter may be accepted as third-party evidence of your day-to-day decision-making role.

Call the Grandparent, Foster and Kinship Carer Advisers on 1800 245 965 if you are unsure about your eligibility before you start the process. They can help assess your eligibility and connect you with a specialist.

The 100 Hours — How It Works in Practice

Standard CCS links your hours to an activity test (work, study, volunteering). ACCS (Grandparent) bypasses this: you get 100 hours per fortnight regardless of your activity level. This matters because many grandparent carers are retired or unable to work.

The subsidy covers up to 120% of the hourly rate cap, which means for most childcare services you pay very little or no gap fee. The exact amount depends on the service's hourly rate relative to the cap.

The subsidy is paid directly to the childcare provider, reducing your out-of-pocket cost at the point of billing.

What ACCS Does Not Cover

ACCS (Grandparent) applies to approved childcare services only — not school fees, private nannies, or informal care arrangements with other family members. It also does not cover occasional care unless the service is registered.

For school-related costs, the Camps, Sports and Excursions Fund (CSEF) and State Schools' Relief are separate Victorian programs with their own application process.

The Victoria Kinship Carer Support guide covers ACCS alongside every other payment and concession available to kinship carers, with a step-by-step claim sequence.

See more Victoria guides →