Additional Child Care Subsidy Grandparent Northern Territory

ACCS Grandparent: Up to Full Fee Coverage

Childcare costs can break a budget that's already stretched. The Additional Child Care Subsidy (Grandparent) can cover up to 100% of childcare fees — up to 120% of the standard CCS hourly rate cap — for up to 100 hours per fortnight. Fees above the applicable hourly cap may remain out of pocket. For a grandparent on a pension raising a preschooler in Darwin, Alice Springs, or Katherine, this can reduce or eliminate much of the early-learning cost.

ACCS (Grandparent) is a Commonwealth payment administered by Services Australia. It's available to grandparents and great-grandparents across Australia, including those in the Northern Territory, whether or not you're an authorised carer under DCF.

Eligibility Requirements

You qualify for ACCS (Grandparent) if you meet all three conditions:

1. You're a grandparent or great-grandparent who is the primary carer of the child (holding 65% or more care responsibility)
2. You receive an eligible income support payment — Age Pension, Disability Support Pension, Parenting Payment Single, JobSeeker, or Carer Payment
3. The child is enrolled at an approved childcare service — long day care, family day care, or outside school hours care

Informal grandparent carers are fully eligible. You don't need a court order, DCF placement, or any formal carer status — just factual care of the grandchild and an eligible Centrelink payment.

What About Aunts, Uncles, and Other Relatives?

ACCS (Grandparent) is specifically for grandparents and great-grandparents. If you're an aunt, uncle, or older sibling raising a relative's child, you're not eligible for this particular stream. However, you may qualify for ACCS (Child Wellbeing) if the child is determined to be at risk.

All kinship carers, regardless of their relationship to the child, can access the standard Child Care Subsidy (CCS) based on income and hours of recognised activity.

The Three-Day Guarantee

From 2026, the Three-Day Guarantee gives all eligible families — including informal kinship carers — access to up to 72 hours per fortnight of subsidised childcare without meeting standard work, training, or study activity tests. This is a significant change for grandparent carers on the Age Pension who previously had to demonstrate activity hours to access full CCS.

Combined with ACCS (Grandparent), a qualifying grandparent can access up to 72 subsidised hours per fortnight, with fees above the ACCS hourly cap potentially still payable.

How to Apply

Lodge your ACCS (Grandparent) claim through your myGov account linked to Centrelink, or call the Grandparent, Foster and Kinship Carer Adviser Line on 1800 245 965. You'll need:

• Your Centrelink Customer Reference Number
• The child's enrolment details at the approved childcare service
• Evidence that you're the primary carer (Centrelink typically verifies this through your existing FTB claim)

The childcare service also needs to confirm the child's enrolment and your relationship to the child in their system. Most services in Darwin and regional NT centres are familiar with ACCS claims for grandparent carers.

For a step-by-step walkthrough of claiming ACCS alongside FTB and other Centrelink payments, the NT Kinship Carer Support Guide covers the full childcare subsidy process with a claim checklist and payment tracker worksheet.

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