Australian Government

Federal Register of Legislation

Scheduled Maintenance Friday 1 May

Maintenance is scheduled between 9pm - 12 am AEST, Friday 1 May 2026 and the site may be unavailable or slow during this time.

Child Care Payments Act 1997No. 195, 1997

No longer in force

Latest version

View as made version

C2004C02694

01 July 1999 - 18 June 2000

Table of contents

Chapter 1—Preliminary matters and interpretation
Part 1—Preliminary matters
- 1 Short title [see Note 1]
- 2 Commencement [see Note 1]
- 3 Identifying defined terms
- 4 Overview
Part 2—Interpretation
- 5 Definitions
- 6 Meaning of comply with a tax file number request—request for person’s tax file number
- 7 Meaning of comply with a tax file number request—request for tax file number of person’s partner
- 8 Meaning of conscientious objection
- 9 Extended meaning of inhabitant of Australia—students receiving financial assistance
- 10 Extended meaning of inhabitant of Australia—hardship and special circumstances
- 11 Meaning of member of a couple
- 12 Meaning of payment commencement day
- 13 Meaning of receiving
- 14 Meaning of satisfies the work/training/study test
- 15 Work/training/study test—recognised work or work related commitments
- 16 Work/training/study test—recognised training commitments
- 17 Work/training/study test—recognised study commitments
- 18 Minister’s power to make determinations for the purposes of other definitions
Chapter 2—Child care assistance
Part 1—Entitlement
- 19 Entitlement to child care assistance
Part 2—Qualification
- 20 Qualification for child care assistance
- 21 Meaning of dependent child
- 22 The immunisation requirement—prospective claimants and recipients
- 23 The immunisation requirement—retrospective claimants
- 24 Sessions of care in respect of which emergency child care assistance generally not to count
- 25 Treatment of absences of child from care
Part 3—Limitations on payability
- 26 Part sets out limits on payability
- 27 Assets test
- 28 Assets test—determining value of assets
- 29 Assets test—indexation of assets limit
- 30 Non-temporary cessation of qualification criteria
- 31 No payment unless proper claim made
- 32 Nil rate of payment
- 33 Prospective claims—no payment in respect of periods before or after the maximum assistance period
- 34 Prospective claims—provision of tax file numbers
- 35 Prospective claims—provision of information required by recipient reconciliation notice
- 36 Retrospective claims—no payment in respect of periods before or after maximum assistance period
Part 4—Claims for child care assistance
- 37 Prospective and retrospective claims
- 38 Need for a claim
- 39 Secretary may also treat claim as claim for child care rebate
- 40 Form of claim
- 41 Lodgment of claim
- 42 Claim may be withdrawn
- 43 Secretary may give notice stating that child must be immunised
- 44 Secretary may request claimant to give statement of tax file number
- 45 Secretary may request claimant to give statement of partner’s tax file number
Part 5—Determination of claims
- Division 1—Prospective claims
- Division 2—Retrospective claims
- Division 3—Date of effect etc. of determinations
  - 52 Date of effect etc. of determinations may be dealt with in regulations
Part 6—Rate of child care assistance
- 53 Rate of child care assistance
Part 7—Payment of child care assistance
- Division 1—General provisions about payment
- Division 2—Payment pursuant to prospective claims
- Division 3—Payment pursuant to retrospective claims
Part 8—Recipient obligations
- 69 Part deals with obligations of people paid pursuant to prospective claims
- 70 Secretary may give notice stating that child must be immunised
- 71 Secretary may request person to give statement of tax file number
- 72 Secretary may request person to give statement of partner’s tax file number
- 73 Secretary may require notice of the happening of an event or a change of circumstances
- 74 Secretary may require person to give particular information relevant to payment of child care assistance
- 75 Secretary may require person to give information relating to entitlement to child care assistance in a past period
- 76 Secretary may require person to give notice of change of address
Chapter 3—Child care rebate
Part 1—Entitlement
- 77 Entitlement to child care rebate
Part 2—Qualification
- 78 Qualification for child care rebate
- 79 Meaning of dependent child
- 80 The immunisation requirement—prospective claimants and recipients
- 81 The immunisation requirement—retrospective claimants
- 82 Treatment of absences of child from care
Part 3—Limitations on payability
- 83 Part sets out limits on payability
- 84 Non-temporary cessation of qualification criteria
- 85 No payment unless proper claim made
- 86 Nil rate of payment
- 87 Prospective claims—no payment in respect of periods before or after the maximum rebate period
- 88 Prospective claims—provision of information required by recipient reconciliation notice
- 89 Retrospective claims—no payment in respect of periods before or after maximum rebate period
Part 4—Claims for child care rebate
- 90 Prospective and retrospective claims
- 91 Need for a claim
- 92 Secretary may also treat claim as claim for child care assistance
- 93 Form of claim
- 94 Lodgment of claim
- 95 Claim may be withdrawn
- 96 Secretary may give notice stating that child must be immunised
- 97 Secretary may request claimant to give statement of tax file number
- 98 Secretary may request claimant to give statement of partner’s tax file number
Part 5—Determination of claims
- Division 1—Prospective claims
- Division 2—Retrospective claims
- Division 3—Date of effect etc. of determinations
  - 105 Date of effect etc. of determinations may be dealt with in regulations
Part 6—Rate of child care rebate
- 106 Rate of child care rebate
Part 7—Payment of child care rebate
- Division 1—General provisions about payment
- Division 2—Payment pursuant to prospective claims
- Division 3—Payment pursuant to retrospective claims
Part 8—Recipient obligations
- 121 Part deals with obligations of people paid pursuant to prospective claims
- 122 Secretary may give notice stating that child must be immunised
- 123 Secretary may request person to give statement of tax file number
- 124 Secretary may request person to give statement of partner’s tax file number
- 125 Secretary may require notice of the happening of an event or a change of circumstances
- 126 Secretary may require person to give particular information relevant to payment of child care rebate
- 127 Secretary may require person to give information relating to entitlement to child care rebate in a past period
- 128 Secretary may require person to give notice of change of address
Chapter 4—Overpayments and debt recovery
Part 1—Preliminary
- 129 Amount paid to person includes amount paid on person’s behalf to another person
- 130 Special provisions relating to operators of child care assistance services
- 131 Chapter does not apply to emergency child care assistance
Part 2—Amounts recoverable under this Act
- 132 Debts due to the Commonwealth
- 133 Debts arising under this Act
- 134 Debts arising from AAT stay orders
- 135 Debts arising from recipient’s contravention of this Act
- 136 Person other than payee obtaining payment of a cheque
- 137 Debts arising from conviction of person for involvement in contravention of this Act by debtor
- 138 Data-matching Program (Assistance and Tax) Act debts
- 139 Interest payable on debt for failure to enter agreement to pay debt
- 140 Interest payable on debt for breach of agreement to pay debt
- 141 Penalty interest rate
- 142 Debt from failure to comply with garnishee notice
- 143 Overseas application of provisions
- 144 Recoverable debts
Part 3—Methods of recovery
- 145 Deductions generally
- 146 Deductions from debtor’s child care payment
- 147 Deductions from group payments made to child care assistance service
- 148 Time limits on recovery action under sections 146 and 147
- 149 Legal proceedings
- 150 Garnishee notice
- 151 Time limits on recovery action under section 150
- 152 Secretary may allow payment of debt by instalments
- 153 Deductions by consent from child care payment of person who is not a debtor
Part 4—Non-recovery of debts
- 154 Meaning of debt
- 155 Secretary may write off debt
- 156 Power to waive Commonwealth’s right to recover debt
- 157 Waiver of debt arising from error
- 158 Waiver of debt relating to an offence
- 159 Waiver of small debt
- 160 Waiver in relation to settlements
- 161 Waiver where debtor or debtor’s partner would have been entitled to child care rebate
- 162 Waiver in special circumstances
- 163 Secretary may waive debts of a particular class
- 164 Determination that penalty interest not payable in relation to particular periods
Chapter 5—Emergency child care assistance
- 165 Definitions
- 166 What is emergency child care assistance?
- 167 Minister may make guidelines
- 168 Application
- 169 Consequences of failure to comply with requirement for other information
- 170 Children in respect of whom emergency child care assistance is not payable
- 171 Payability and rate of payment of emergency child care assistance
- 172 Duration of payment of emergency child care assistance
Chapter 6—Approval and registration of child care services
Part 1—Approval for child care assistance purposes
- Division 1—Obtaining approval and conditions of approval
- Division 2—Allocation of child care assistance hours
Part 2—Registration for child care rebate purposes
- 205 What is the significance of registration of a child care service?
- 206 Application
- 207 Registration of child care services
- 208 Statement that applicant has tax file number
- 209 When does registration take effect?
- 210 Conditions of registration
- 211 Consequences of breach of conditions of registration
- 212 Procedure for imposing a sanction
- 213 Cancellation
- 214 Procedure for cancellation
- 215 Notification of matters affecting eligibility for registration
- 216 Eligibility rules
- 217 Exemption from eligibility rules
- 218 Determinations disallowable
Part 3—Review of decisions
- 219 Review by the AAT
- 220 Internal review
Chapter 7—Information management
Part 1—Information gathering
- 221 General power to obtain information
- 222 Power to obtain information from a person who owes a debt to the Commonwealth
- 223 Power to obtain information about a person who owes a debt to the Commonwealth
- 224 General provisions about making requirements under sections 221 to 223
- 225 Power to obtain information to verify claims etc.
- 226 General provisions about making requirements under section 225
- 227 Secretary’s obligation in relation to information given under section 225
- 228 State/Territory law does not affect obligations to provide information under this Act
- 229 Part does not create offences in relation to emergency child care assistance
Part 2—Confidentiality
- 230 Authorised access to and use of protected information
- 231 Offence—unauthorised access to protected information
- 232 Offence—unauthorised use of protected information
- 233 Protection extends to court, tribunal etc. proceedings
- 234 Secretary’s certificate
- 235 Guidelines for exercise of Secretary’s disclosure power
- 236 Offence—soliciting disclosure of protected information
- 237 Offence—untrue representations
- 238 Offences—offering to supply protected information
- 239 Officer’s oath or declaration
- 240 Freedom of Information Act not affected
Chapter 8—General provisions about offences and penalties
- 241 Application of the Criminal Code
- 242 Crown not liable to be prosecuted for offences
- 243 Conviction of an offence—repayment of child care payment
- 244 Secretary’s certificate
- 245 Court certificate
- 246 Proceedings against non-corporations
Chapter 9—General provisions about review of decisions
Part 1—Internal review
- 247 Decisions to which Part applies
- 248 Secretary may review decisions
- 249 Application for review
- 250 Secretary or CEO may continue payment pending outcome of application for review
- 251 Powers of Secretary, CEO or authorised review officer if application for review
- 252 Certain determinations not to be revived
- 253 Notification of further rights of review
Part 2—Review by Social Security Appeals Tribunal
- 254 Decisions to which Part applies
- 255 SSAT objectives
- 256 Application for review by SSAT
- 257 Secretary may continue payment pending outcome of application for review
- 258 SSAT review powers
- 259 Date of effect of SSAT decisions
- 260 Application requirements
- 261 Variation of decision before SSAT review completed
- 262 Parties to SSAT review
Part 3—Right to review by Administrative Appeals Tribunal
- 263 Review of SSAT decision by AAT
- 264 Variation of decision before AAT review completed
- 265 Review of SSAT decision on application by the Secretary
- 266 Secretary may settle proceedings before the AAT
Part 4—Modification of the Administrative Appeals Tribunal Act 1975
- 267 Modification of the Administrative Appeals Tribunal Act
- 268 Statement of reasons for decision
- 269 Notice of application for review
- 270 Parties to review by the AAT
- 271 Lodging documents with the AAT
- 272 Power of the AAT to obtain additional statements
- 273 Operation and implementation of the decision under review
- 274 Power of the AAT if party fails to appear
Chapter 10—Administration
Part 1—General administration
- 275 Secretary to have general administration of Act
- 276 Delegation by Secretary
- 277 Authorised review officers
- 278 Decisions to be in writing
- 279 Notice of decisions under this Act
Part 2—Special provisions about the Agency
- 280 References to the Secretary and the Department—requirements etc. by delegate
- 281 References to the Secretary and the Department—directions by Secretary
Chapter 11—Miscellaneous
- 282 Treatment of unincorporated associations
- 283 Treatment of partnerships
- 284 Judicial notice to be taken of certain matters
- 285 Evidence
- 286 Source of payments
- 287 Regulations
Schedule 1—Calculation of rate of child care assistance
- Module A—Interpretation
- Module B—Overall rate calculation process
- Module C—Qualifying session of care
- Module D—Eligible hour of care
- Module E—Hourly rebateable fee
- Module F—CA%
- Module G—Indexation
- Module A—Overall rate calculation process
- Module B—Qualifying session of care
- Module C—CCR%
- Module D—Weekly child care expenditure
- Module E—Indexation
Notes to the Child Care Payments Act 1997