Separated Families and Shared
Care Arrangements Fact Sheet
February 2015
This fact sheet contains information on how to report child care data in the Child Care Management
System (CCMS) for separated families and families with shared care arrangements.
Why does the family have to report their change of
circumstances to Centrelink?
If parents have new care arrangements for their child, they are obligated to report this to Centrelink
within 14 days of the change to their circumstances. Where families have separated, the parents
need to be assessed as two separate families for Child Care Benefit (CCB) purposes. This is important
because parents must only receive the CCB percentage to which they are entitled based on their
individual assessment.
Families could assume that their out of pocket gap fee will not change after separation. This is often
not the case, because if both parents want to receive CCB and Child Care Rebate (CCR), they need to
have their own Centrelink Reference Number (CRN) and be assessed individually for CCB. This may
result in each parent having different CCB percentages, as the CCB percentage depends upon their
individual incomes.
Why is it important to know if a family has separated?
CCB and CCR payments are benefits that are paid to a service on behalf of the individual who is liable
for the cost of care for a child. In the situation where multiple individuals hold liability of fees (e.g.
separated parents with shared care), it’s important to be clear about who is responsible for what
sessions of care and fees as this will impact the calculation and payment of CCB.
Being aware of a child’s living situation as it changes will help prevent disputes arising in the future
involving enrolments and CCB/CCR payments because you are able to change enrolments and
charging practices reactive to the child’s situation.
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Therefore, ensure that parents inform you of any changes to their personal circumstances, in
particular if they change care arrangements of a child after separation or divorce. You can consider
including this in your enrolment information pack to raise awareness and make it part of your
service’s policy.
Child care attendance data must always be submitted under an enrolment for the parent who is
liable for the cost of care for that session, regardless of whether they are assessed for CCB or not.
Being aware of any shared care arrangements or change of liability for the cost of care allows you to
make the necessary changes at that time. These may include:

Creating two bookings for the child so that each parent has their own enrolment and can
separately claim CCB/CCR for the particular days of care which they are liable for, or

End date one parent’s enrolment if they no longer hold liability for the fees, and create a
new enrolment starting from the date in which the other parent becomes liable for the fees.
This ensures the liable parent is paid the correct CCB and CCR.
What are my obligations as an approved service once I have
been notified of a change of care arrangements?
As an approved child care service, it is your responsibility to ensure that each child’s attendances are
submitted under the enrolment for the parent with whom you have an agreement and who is liable
for paying the fees for care. This will help ensure that there are no future disputes over who should
have received the CCB/CCR payments on behalf of the child.
For example, Jack’s attendances have been submitted under his mother Susan’s CRN since he
started with your child care service two years ago. One day when picking Jack up, Susan mentions to
you that she has recently separated from her husband Ben and he will now be separately paying for
two days of the five days of child care per week. The steps you should take include:

Advise Susan that she and Ben need to update Centrelink on their change of circumstances.

Confirm the arrangement with Ben and get him to sign an enrolment form setting out his
agreement.

Create an informal enrolment and account within your software for Ben and Jack for the
date from which Ben is liable for paying for two days of child care per week.

Obtain Ben’s CRN (from him) to formalise his enrolment. If he does not yet have one, advise
him he can be assessed for CCB if he wishes to receive CCB/CCR on his enrolment. Advise
Ben that CCB/CCR is not payable until he has been assessed and provided your service with
the relevant information. Alternatively, Ben can lodge a lump sum claim to receive CCB/CCR.

Submit future sessions of care against each parent’s enrolment based their liability for fees
(two days under Ben and three days under Susan).
This means that both Susan and Ben will receive the CCB that they are entitled to.
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If the enrolment was left under Susan’s CRN, there is a possibility that in the future, Ben may
question why he has not received any CCB/CCR for the two days of care for which he was liable and
paying for.
It is important to note that you cannot change the name of the parent on a formal enrolment once
the liability for paying fees changes. Changing the name of the parent on an enrolment in your
software from the mother to the father, means that you will continue submitting attendances under
the mother’s CRN (even though it appears that the formal enrolment now belongs to the father in
your software). Any fee reductions which are paid under this enrolment will continue to be based on
the mother’s CCB percentage. You are always required to re-enrol the child under the recently
assessed individual.
If a parent requests for me to cancel past attendances
because they haven’t received CCB, what should I do?
Your service has a responsibility to change enrolment details from the point in time that you are
advised of a change in circumstances by the family. You are not obligated to cancel and resubmit
attendances in a previous financial year based on an instruction from a parent, nor is it
recommended.
Cancelling attendances in a previous financial year for one parent will raise a debt against the parent
at Centrelink for any CCB and/or CCR paid during that period.
If parents have not informed the service of their changed circumstances so the appropriate
enrolments can be created in CCMS, then it is the parents’ responsibility to resolve any disputes they
may have regarding CCB/CCR payments and fee reductions.
Where can I seek further assistance regarding a particular
case that I have been approached by a parent about?
If you are unsure of how you should submit attendances for a separated family or those with shared
care arrangements, contact the CCMS Helpdesk.

Phone: 1300 667 276

Email: [email protected]
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