2.6.2.10 CCS - eligibility for children aged 13 & under & attending secondary school or aged 14 or above

Summary

In most cases, for an individual (1.1.I.90) to be eligible for CCS, the child must be aged 13 and under and not attending secondary school. However, there are certain circumstances where older children may still be eligible for CCS.

These circumstances apply where the child is not able to be left at home unsupervised, and an adult is not able to provide suitable care in the circumstances. This can include:

• children aged 13 and under who are attending secondary school, including children with a disability or medical condition (1.1.C.25)
• children with a disability or medical condition aged 14 to 15 years, and
• children with disability or medical condition aged 16, 17 or 18 years in exceptional circumstances.

General preconditions to eligibility

For CCS eligibility to be considered for these children, individuals must indicate their child cannot be left at home alone and there is no adult able to provide suitable care.

Where an individual is already eligible for CCS for a child starting secondary school, the individual can make a case for their child's eligibility to continue by updating their circumstances with Centrelink.

To do this, the individual seeking CCS eligibility for a child in one of these groups will need to include a Commonwealth statutory declaration addressing:

• why the child cannot reasonably be left alone in the circumstances, and
• that no one aged 18 years or above can provide suitable care in the circumstances.

For example, this could be because the family live in a remote location, the child has a low level of maturity, or the child's disability or medical condition means they are unable to be left at home unsupervised.

Additionally, where an individual has a child aged 15 and under with a disability or medical condition (where the child is an NDIS participant, or has or is undergoing assessment for a specified condition), when making a claim (1.1.C.27) or when updating circumstances, the individual will also need to indicate and provide evidence the child has a disability or medical condition (see evidentiary requirements for children aged 15 or under with a disability or medical condition below).

Exceptional circumstances for children aged 16, 17 or 18

Individuals with a child with a disability or medical condition aged 16, 17 or 18 will only be eligible for CCS in exceptional circumstances.

In these instances, including when a child with a disability or medical condition turns 16, individuals will need to make a case for the child's eligibility, or continued eligibility, to Centrelink. Individuals will need to provide a statutory declaration (see General preconditions to eligibility), and information about their case for the delegate at Centrelink to make a decision.

Individuals may also need to provide evidence of the child's disability or medical condition with their request (see evidentiary requirements for children aged 16, 17 or 18 below).

General evidentiary requirements for children with disability or medical condition

To meet the disability or medical requirements, children need to be an NDIS participant or have been diagnosed with or be undergoing assessment for a specified condition. The individual must be able to provide sufficient evidence at claim or when updating their circumstances to substantiate these claims.

Children with a disability or medical condition aged 15 & under

For children aged 15 or under with a disability or medical condition, the following table outlines whether the child is an NDIS participant and their current status regarding diagnosis or assessment.

Children with a disability or medical condition aged 16,17 or 18

Regardless of whether or not they have previously been eligible for CCS for the child, individuals who wish to be eligible for CCS for a child aged 16, 17 or 18 must always provide a statutory declaration addressing:

• why the child cannot reasonably be left alone in the circumstances, and
• that no one aged 18 years or above is able to provide suitable care in the circumstances.

An 18-year-old would only be eligible where they are enrolled in child care and completing a year of school to allow the family to maintain existing care arrangements until the end of the school year.

For children aged 16,17 or 18 with a disability or medical condition, the following table outlines whether the child is an NDIS participant and their current status regarding diagnosis or assessment.

Where a child is not an NDIS participant & does not have & is not being assessed for a specified condition

If a child has or is undergoing assessment for a disability or medical condition but is not an NDIS participant and does not have or is not being assessed by a registered medical practitioner or registered psychologist for one of the specified conditions, the Secretary's delegate can make a determination that the child has a disability for the purposes of eligibility for CCS.

Evidentiary requirements

The individual will need to make a submission to Centrelink, and provide documentary evidence from a registered medical practitioner or registered psychologist. The evidence must include the condition the child has been diagnosed with, or an explanation of the type of condition their child is undergoing assessment for (if a registered medical practitioner or registered psychologist has not been able to identify what condition the child may have).

If the registered medical practitioner or registered psychologist does not specify in the documentary evidence the condition is permanent, or likely to be permanent, the evidence must be dated within 24 months of the date the evidence is provided to Centrelink.

If the delegate is satisfied the child has a disability and makes a determination to this effect, the individual must also provide a statutory declaration as described above. If the child is aged 16, 17 or 18, the Secretary's delegate must have determined it is appropriate for the child to be eligible for CCS in exceptional circumstances.

Change of circumstances

If an individual's circumstances change they must update their circumstances as soon as practicable. For example, if a child no longer has a condition, or an assessment has resulted in a diagnosis, individuals must notify Centrelink, and provide updated evidence where applicable.