On 2 July the current two tiered system of the Child Care Benefit and the Child Care Rebate will be replaced by a single Child Care Subsidy.

The switch to the new scheme is not automatic and families have to go their nearest Centrelink office, or the Centrelink website, to update their details for the transition to be seamless.

If they don’t do so in the next few days, they could face a gap in support.

About 235,000 families nationwide have not updated their details with Centrelink.

The Member for Cowper, Luke Hartsuyker, said that some of those families would inevitably be on the Mid North Coast.

“It won’t be the end of the world if they don’t make the deadline because there will be a three month grace period, and support will be back-dated,” Mr Hartsuyker said.

“But there will not be continuous support under those circumstances.

“There will be a gap before that back-payment reaches the provider, and that cost to families can be avoided if they act before the deadline.”

Many families will be around $1,300 a year better off under the new scheme.

The current cap of $7,500 on support for families earning up to $186,958 will go, and for higher incomes the cap will be increased from $7,613 to $10,190.

“We want families to be able to work more, earn more, and keep more,” he said.

“The child care changes help that cause, as do the recently announced income tax cuts, but if you haven’t updated your details with Centrelink, you should do so right now.”