Childcare EOFY Checklist: 2024-25

The end of the financial year (EOFY) is especially important in early childhood education and care (ECEC) because of child care subsidy (CCS). That's why we've created a childcare EOFY checklist, to help you will CCS and payroll.

Like most businesses, ECEC services must do the standard business protocols for EOFY for financial and tax obligation. But they must also reconcile CCS, which finishes on the last fortnight of the financial year. For 2024-25, this ends on Sunday 6th July 2025.

As OWNA helps services with both childcare management, and HR & Payroll, we'll be looking at CCS obligations for EOFY, as well as payroll obligations.

End-of-CCS-Year Obligations for Childcare Providers

Check Absences for the CCS Year

Families are allowed 42 allowable absences throughout the CCS year. After that, CCS cannot be applied to sessions where the child was absent.

There are exceptions for additional absences with documentation or if a state of emergency has been declared.

As you get to the end of the financial year, make sure you check whether families are getting near or over the number of allowable absences.

In OWNA, a colour-coded system is available on the portal (under CCSS > Entitlements) which highlights families at risk of going over absences.

Ensure Sessions are Submitted Correctly for 2024-25

At the end of the CCS year, CentreLink will balance a family's account by looking at the attendance information & the family's income.

Services must make sure that all sessions have been submitted correctly up until 30th June. This is important as parents will also be required to update their income by the same date.

Mistakes in reporting sessions can lead to administration headaches, including CCS being paid directly to families and services having to retrieve the money from them.

In OWNA, you can look at the Weekly Attendance Fee for any sessions that haven't been submitted, and submit them to ensure sessions are correct.

Remind Families to Confirm Their Income

Families must confirm their 2023-24 income by 30th June 2024 to balance their account & continue to receive CCS.

After the family's income is assessed against the session reports, CentreLink will determine how much CCS has been administered in 2024-25 and how much the family was entitled to.

They will either refund the family or use withholding to take out any outstanding fees. Any amount beyond withholding will mean the family incur a debt.

In OWNA, you can communicate this with families in several ways: posting on the app, sending SMS to families, or sending email reminders.

Check Any Fee Changes Against the Hourly Cap

Services often increase their fees in the new CCS year. It's important to check your new fees in relation to the hourly cap, as it may result in a large increase in the gap fee paid by families.

The hourly cap for 2025-26 has not yet been released. Want to be notified when they are released? Join the Early Word Newsletter for FREE!

Families sometimes incorrectly note children's ages and receive the wrong hourly cap. You can use the OWNA CCS Calculator to troubleshoot.

Payroll obligations for EOFY in Childcare

Before 30th June

There are a number of obligations to complete before EOFY on 30th June. They are:

1. Reconciling Payroll Records

• Reconcile total gross wages, PAYG withholding, and superannuation, making sure it matches with the records in your accounting software.

• Reconcile all leave balances, deductions, reimbursements and allowances.

2. Finalising Superannuation Payments

• Ensure all Super Guarantee (SG) contributions for the year are paid by 30 June to claim tax deductions.

• Allow the clearing house some extra processing time (like SuperStream). This can take up to 3-5 days during peak periods.

3. Checking Salary Sacrifice and Reportable Fringe Benefits Tax

• Confirm all salary sacrifice arrangements are processed and reported correctly.

• Calculate any Reportable Fringe Benefits Amounts (RFBA) for employees earning over $2,000 in FBT value and report it as per the guidelines available on ATO website.

4. Reviewing STP Reporting

• Ensure all Single Touch Payroll (STP) reports have been lodged throughout the year.

• Check for rejected or missed pay events, or create an event before the financial year ends to update all the records.

Year-end processing (1st-14th July)

After the financial year ends, there are still some processing items you need to finalise:

5. Running Final Pay Runs for June

• Include any bonuses, commissions, or adjustments needed in the final June payroll.

6. Finalising STP Reporting

• Declare year-end finalisation in your payroll software.

• Must be submitted by 14th July to meet ATO deadlines. If you can't make a finalisation declaration on or before the due date, you will need to apply for a deferral.

7. Distributing Income Statements

• Employees can access income statements via their myGov account (linked to ATO services).

Post-Finalisation (Mid-July onwards)

After finalising, here are some tasks to ensure success in the new financial year:

8. Backups for Payroll and Financial Data

• Secure backups of payroll files, employee records, super reports, and STP lodgements.

9. Reviewing Payroll Settings for the New Financial Year

• Update tax tables (ensure payroll software has the latest ATO rates).

• Adjust pay rates in line with the Fair Work Commission's Annual Wage Review (if applicable).

• Reset YTD figures in manual systems if required.

10. Planning for Compliance for the New Financial Year

• Update any Award rate changes that are applicable from 1 July.

• Review employee classifications and minimum entitlements.

Download Your EOFY Checklists

Get your End-of-CCS-Year Checklist here:

Get your EOFY Payroll Checklist here: