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The In-Home Care Program Explained: Australia's Only Nanny Subsidy
What Is the In-Home Care Program?
The In-Home Care (IHC) program is the only Australian Government subsidy that helps families pay for care delivered in their own home by a qualified educator. It sits inside the Child Care Subsidy system but operates under separate rules — and is restricted to families who genuinely can't access mainstream childcare options like long day care, family day care, or outside school hours care.
If you've heard that "you can't get the Child Care Subsidy for a nanny," that's mostly true. IHC is the narrow, important exception.
Who Qualifies for In-Home Care in Victoria?
The IHC program is targeted at families in one of three broad situations.
You work non-standard hours. Nurses, doctors, paramedics, police, firefighters, hospitality workers, FIFO partners, and shift workers whose hours fall outside what daycare can cover are the most common IHC families.
You live in a remote or rural area where there is no realistic childcare option within reasonable distance of your home. Parts of regional Victoria — particularly the Mallee, the High Country, and small Wimmera communities — qualify on this basis.
Your family has complex needs. This includes families with a child who has a disability, a chronic health condition, or behavioural needs that mainstream childcare cannot accommodate. It also includes families with multiple children of overlapping ages where centre-based care is genuinely unworkable, and families experiencing other documented hardship.
You need to demonstrate to an IHC Support Agency that mainstream care is not a workable option for your circumstances — not simply that you'd prefer in-home care.
How Much Does the In-Home Care Subsidy Cover?
IHC is paid per family, not per child, which is one of the things that makes it valuable for families with multiple children. The subsidy rate is calculated using the standard Child Care Subsidy formula based on your combined family income, applied to an hourly cap set specifically for IHC.
From 5 January 2026, the 3 Day Guarantee applies: all CCS-eligible families now receive a minimum of 72 hours of subsidised care per fortnight regardless of work hours. Families with both parents doing more than 48 hours per fortnight of recognised activity can access up to 100 hours per fortnight. This is a significant 2026 reform that expanded access compared to the old activity-test system.
Verify your current subsidy percentage by logging into your myGov account linked to Centrelink, or check Services Australia's current published rates before relying on any specific dollar figure.
How Do You Apply for In-Home Care in Victoria?
The application process has four steps.
Step one: Confirm CCS eligibility. You need to be receiving, or eligible for, the Child Care Subsidy. This means meeting the residency, immunisation, and child age requirements.
Step two: Contact an IHC Support Agency. Victoria has designated Support Agencies that assess your eligibility for IHC specifically. They will ask you to demonstrate why mainstream childcare is not workable.
Step three: Get matched with an approved IHC service. Only approved In-Home Care providers can deliver subsidised care. Not every nanny agency is an IHC-approved provider — this is a separate accreditation. Check with the agency directly.
Step four: Care begins. The educator is engaged through the IHC service, payments flow through the CCS system, and your gap fee is paid directly to the provider.
How Is In-Home Care Different to Hiring a Nanny Privately?
Three big differences.
The educator's qualifications. IHC educators must hold an approved early childhood qualification and meet ongoing professional standards. A privately hired nanny may or may not have formal qualifications.
The care must follow an early learning framework. IHC isn't just supervision — the educator delivers a structured learning program aligned with the national Early Years Learning Framework. This is a benefit for families wanting genuine early childhood education at home.
Subsidy eligibility. This is the obvious one. IHC families get help with the cost; private-nanny families pay full freight.
The trade-off: IHC is harder to qualify for, the educator pool is smaller, and you have less flexibility over hours and arrangements than a private placement.
Common Reasons Families Are Knocked Back from IHC
Three patterns recur.
You earn above the CCS upper threshold — currently around $535,000 in combined family income, where eligibility cuts out entirely.
Your work hours don't qualify as "non-standard." Standard 9-to-5 work, even if demanding, generally doesn't meet the threshold.
Your local area has childcare available, even if it has a waitlist. The test is whether care is theoretically available, not whether you can practically access it right now.
If you don't qualify for IHC, you still have options. We cover the full cost picture for private nanny arrangements in [How Much Does a Nanny Cost in Victoria].
Frequently Asked Questions
Can I claim the Child Care Subsidy for a private nanny? No. The standard Child Care Subsidy only applies to approved childcare services. Private nannies and au pairs are not eligible. The In-Home Care program is the only pathway for in-home care subsidies.
Who is eligible for the In-Home Care program in Australia? Families who can't access mainstream childcare because they work non-standard hours, live in remote areas, or have complex family or medical needs. You also need to meet standard Child Care Subsidy eligibility.
How much does the In-Home Care subsidy pay? The subsidy is calculated as a percentage of an hourly cap based on your family income. Lower-income families can receive up to 90 per cent of the capped rate. Check Services Australia for the current cap and your specific percentage.
Is shift work enough to qualify for In-Home Care? Shift work that consistently falls outside standard centre operating hours is one of the strongest qualifying grounds. Healthcare, emergency services, hospitality, and aviation workers are commonly approved.
What changed with the Child Care Subsidy in January 2026? From 5 January 2026, the activity test was replaced by the 3 Day Guarantee. All CCS-eligible families now receive at least 72 hours of subsidised care per fortnight, regardless of work hours. This applies to IHC families as well.
Not Sure If You Qualify?
In-Home Care eligibility isn't always obvious. If your work pattern, location, or family circumstances feel like they should qualify, the assessment is worth running. [Contact us] and we'll talk you through whether IHC is a realistic path for your family — and what your alternatives look like if it isn't.
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