Family Assistance Legislation Amendment (Child Care Subsidy) Act 2023 (38 of 2023)

Schedule 1   Amendments

A New Tax System (Family Assistance) (Administration) Act 1999

1   After section 71D

Insert:

71DA Debts in respect of CCS or ACCS - absences before first attendance or after last attendance

When this section applies

(1) This section applies if:

(a) an amount (the CCS/ACCS amount ) is paid to an individual by way of CCS or ACCS for a session of care provided by a child care service of a provider to a child on a day; and

(b) the child did not attend any part of the session of care on the day; and

(c) the day was:

(i) before the day the child first attended a session of care provided by the service; or

(ii) after the last day the child attended a session of care provided by the service before the child ceased to be enrolled for care by the service; and

(d) the service is not taken to have provided the session of care to the child on the day under subsection 10(2), (3) or (5) of the Family Assistance Act; and

(e) the individual incurs a debt under subsection 71B(1) for the CCS/ACCS amount.

If debt is incurred before reconciliation

(2) If the individual incurs the debt before the individual meets the CCS reconciliation conditions for the income year in which the session of care occurs, then:

(a) the individual is not taken to have incurred the debt; and

(b) the CCS/ACCS amount is instead a debt due to the Commonwealth by the provider.

If debt is incurred after reconciliation

(3) If the individual incurs the debt after the individual meets the CCS reconciliation conditions for the income year in which the session of care occurs, then:

(a) the amount of the debt is taken to be the amount of the withholding component of the CCS/ACCS amount (see subsection (4)); and

(b) the amount of the fee reduction component of the CCS/ACCS amount is a debt due to the Commonwealth by the provider (see subsection (5)).

(4) The withholding component of the CCS/ACCS amount is the amount that would be the withholding amount under subsection 67EB(3), if it were assumed that:

(a) subsections 67EB(3) and (4) applied for the purposes of this section; and

(b) references to a payment in subsection 67EB(3) were instead references to the CCS/ACCS amount.

(5) The fee reduction component of the CCS/ACCS amount is the CCS/ACCS amount less the withholding component of the CCS/ACCS amount.

Interaction with section 71F

(6) If:

(a) under paragraph (2)(b), the provider incurs a debt for the CCS/ACCS amount; and

(b) under paragraph 71F(2)(b), the provider incurs a debt that consists wholly or partly of an amount (the corresponding 71F(2)(b) amount ) that relates to the same session of care as the CCS/ACCS amount;

then:

(c) if the CCS/ACCS amount is equal to, or more than, the corresponding 71F(2)(b) amount - the provider is taken not to have incurred so much of the debt under paragraph 71F(2)(b) that is equal to the corresponding 71F(2)(b) amount; and

(d) if the corresponding 71F(2)(b) amount is more than the CCS/ACCS amount - the provider is taken not to have incurred a debt for the CCS/ACCS amount under paragraph (2)(b) of this section.

(7) If:

(a) under paragraph (3)(b), the provider incurs a debt for the amount of the fee reduction component of the CCS/ACCS amount; and

(b) under paragraph 71F(3)(b), the provider incurs a debt that consists wholly or partly of an amount (the corresponding 71F(3)(b) amount ) that relates to the same session of care as the CCS/ACCS amount;

then:

(c) if the amount of the fee reduction component is equal to, or more than, the corresponding 71F(3)(b) amount - the provider is taken not to have incurred so much of the debt under paragraph 71F(3)(b) that is equal to the corresponding 71F(3)(b) amount; and

(d) if the corresponding 71F(3)(b) amount is more than the amount of the fee reduction component - the provider is taken not to have incurred a debt for the amount of the fee reduction component under paragraph (3)(b) of this section.