New CCS data released for June quarter 2025: Service supply up, but family uptake lags

Even as government support for early childhood education and care (ECEC) continues to grow, the latest Child Care Subsidy (CCS) Data Report for the June quarter 2025 points to emerging shifts in family demand, provider pressure and pricing dynamics.

 

Released by the Australian Government, the report provides a quarterly snapshot of child care usage, fees, services and subsidy allocations for CCS-approved care across the country. Covering children allocated a Customer Reference Number (CRN) by Services Australia, the data reveals both steady growth and underlying structural challenges for the sector.

 

During the June quarter 2025, a total of 1,423,900 children from 1,005,800 families attended CCS-approved early learning. This represents modest year-on-year growth of 0.4 per cent in children and 0.6 per cent in families since June quarter 2024.

 

 

Key demographic insights include:

 

• 49.5 per cent of children aged 0 to 5 accessed CCS-approved care

 

 

• The average weekly attendance remained steady at 26.7 hours per child

 

 

The data reported for the June quarter 2025 shows an overall increase in service usage compared to the previous year.

 

New South Wales continued to account for the largest proportion of children in care (31.8 per cent or 453,160 children), while Victoria saw the largest proportional growth, increasing by 2.1 per cent (7,350 children).

 

 

A total of 15,214 approved services operated during the quarter. Centre Based Day Care (CBDC) remained dominant, making up 63.7 per cent (9,684 services) of the national total. However, year-on-year changes in family usage diverged by care type:

 

Despite CBDC accounting for most new services, the decline in family usage suggests softening demand or market saturation in some locations. By contrast, Outside School Hours Care (OSHC) continues to see robust growth.

 

Nationally, the average hourly fee rose to $13.40, up 6.7 per cent from the June quarter 2024. Fee breakdowns by service type included:

 

• CBDC: $14.00 per hour (highest)
• Family Day Care: $13.45 per hour
• OSHC: $9.70 per hour (lowest)

 

The hourly rate cap for children below school age in CBDC stood at $14.29. Nationally, 62.6 per cent of CBDC services were within or below the cap, but average fees exceeded the cap in the ACT ($15.70) and Western Australia ($14.30).

 

 

Total CCS and Additional CCS (ACCS) expenditure reached $3.86 billion during the quarter, a 5.6 per cent increase year-on-year. Most of this funding, 85.1 per cent or $3.28 billion was directed to CBDC.

 

 

The number of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander children in CCS-approved care rose 6.0 per cent to 66,500. This cohort remains more likely to use CBDC (67.2 per cent compared to 56.7 per cent across all children). NSW accounted for 37.5 per cent of these enrolments.

 

 

 

Targeted subsidy programs also saw high usage:

 

• ACCS was accessed by 43,000 children and 31,000 families, with $194.3 million in funding allocated
• The Multi Child Subsidy supported 192,460 families during the quarter

 

 

For providers and policy-makers, the June 2025 data identifies the importance of aligning service expansion with local demand, monitoring fee trajectories, and ensuring equity-focused programs continue to reach those most in need. Emerging divergence between service growth and family usage in key segments such as CBDC may signal areas for closer attention in coming quarters.

 

Read the full report and access complete data tables on the Department of Education website: Child Care Subsidy Data Report – June Quarter 2025