Family Assistance Legislation Amendment (Child Care Subsidy) 2021

# Family Assistance Legislation Amendment (Child Care Subsidy) 2021 ## What it does This law removes the annual cap on child care subsidies and increases the amount of government help families can get for child care costs. Previously, there was a maximum limit on how much subsidy you could claim in a year—that limit is being scrapped. The government is also raising the subsidy amounts in two phases. ## Why it matters Families with young kids will be able to claim more government money towards child care without hitting a yearly ceiling. This could make child care more affordable for working parents, especially those with multiple children or high child care costs. ## Key details - **The cap disappears**: You'll no longer hit an annual maximum for subsidies—the more eligible care you use, the more support you get (up to the new higher subsidy rates) - **Two-stage rollout**: The subsidy increases happen in two phases, with the first phase coming from mid-2022 onwards - **Backlog commencement dates**: The law gives the government flexibility to choose exact start dates via proclamation, but sets automatic fallback dates (1 July 2022 for the cap removal, 1 July 2023 for phase 2 increases) if they don't pick earlier dates

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