Contents
Childcare Assistance Programme : Contents

Shared care - principal caregiver

Principal caregiver

To be considered the 'principal caregiver' of the child the client must have:

  • the primary responsibility for the day to day care of the child, other than on a temporary basis

If it is difficult to assess who is the principal caregiver, review the decision guidelines for:

Exception

A principal temporary caregiver receiving Orphans Benefit or Unsupported Childs Benefit is considered to have primary responsibility for the child and may receive Child Disability Allowance while the child is in their care. However, they cannot be considered a principal caregiver for the purposes of decisions on shared care.

Shared care - deciding principal caregiver

Shared care/carer only applies when the parents or caregivers of a child are living apart, the child lives at least 40% of the time with each parent and both parents apply for a Childcare Subsidy for that child.

Only one parent or caregiver (defined as the principal caregiver) is entitled to receive the subsidy. It cannot be paid to two parents/caregivers. The parent or caregiver applying must meet the qualifications.

For more information see:

Qualifications

Legislation

  • Shared care of dependent child section 195 Social Security Act 2018
  • Rules for assessing which parent has greater responsibility for dependent child section 196 Social Security Act 2018
  • principal caregiver (definition) schedule 2 Social Security Act 2018
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For Orphans Benefit or Unsupported Childs Benefit, the principal temporary caregiver is the person who has the primary responsibility for the day-to-day care of the child for a short-term, unknown, or uncertain period, and is not the natural or adoptive parent of the child.