OSCAR subsidy and overnight camps
During the school holidays parents may choose to enrol their children in overnight camps.
Children generally stay all week, and most parents have an entitlement of 50 hours' OSCAR subsidy.
Entitlement is either:
- 50 hours OSCAR subsidy or
- the camp fees
whichever is the lesser.
Some families either:
- don't have entitlement to 50 hours OSCAR subsidy per week, but still want their child to attend the camp or
- don't necessarily want to leave their child for a whole week
Examples of both types of payment are detailed below.
Example 1 - Full payment
Example A
The child is enrolled in a holiday camp which costs $250.00 for the full week. The child's parent works 50 hours per week and is entitled to a subsidy of $6.72 per hour (maximum weekly payment for 50 hours is $336.00 as at 1 April 2026).
Payment in this case is $250.00 as the camp fee is the lesser amount.
Example B
The child is enrolled in a holiday camp which costs $150.00 for the full week.
The child's parent works 50 hours per week and is entitled to a subsidy of $5.36 per hour (maximum weekly payment for 50 hours is $268.00 as at 1 April 2026).
Payment in this case is $150.00 as the camp fee is the lesser amount.
Example 2 - Part payment
However, some parents have different circumstances or requirements, therefore payments are different for them.
Example A
The child is enrolled in a holiday camp which costs $250.00 for the full week and the child will be attending for the week.
The child's parent works 35 hours per week and is entitled to a subsidy of $6.72 per hour as at 1 April 2026 (maximum weekly payment for 35 hours is $235.20).
Payment in this case is $235.20 as at 1 April 2026. The parent would need to make up the difference of $14.80 to pay for the camp in full.
Example B
The child is enrolled in a holiday camp which costs $200.00 for the full week.
The child's parent works 20 hours per week, and is entitled to a subsidy of $6.72 per hour as at 1 April 2026 (maximum weekly payment for 20 hours is $134.40).
The child attends camp for 2 days only but the camp still charges for the whole week.
The subsidy paid is $134.40 (20 hours' subsidy). The parent still needs to pay the additional $65.60 as at 1 April 2026.
Legislation
- Assistance to be no more than hourly fee payable regulation 24 Social Security Regulations 2018
- Payment of assistance during child's absence regulation 28 Social Security Regulations 2018
