How to Get the Most Out of Your Premium Dashboard

Most families come to Premium with a specific worry.

Usually it's one of these:

• Will we owe money at tax time?
• If I take a pay rise, will we actually be better off?
• What changes when my child turns 6?
• Is working an extra day worth it after tax and childcare?
• Why did our subsidy percentage drop?
• Will salary packaging or an EV lease affect our CCS?
• How does a change to our income affect both CCS and FTB together?

This guide walks through every tool in the dashboard, what it solves, and the best order to use things when you're making a real decision.

Guided or Advanced: which view should I use?

The Premium dashboard has two views. A segmented toggle at the top of every dashboard page lets you switch between them at any time, and your scenarios carry over.

• Guided (/dashboard/simple) is the recommended starting point. It uses plain-language inputs (relationship, combined income, days, hours, fees), one-click "what if" presets, and a tab strip that walks you through the most common questions one at a time. Each tab opens with a one-sentence explainer so you always know what you're looking at.
• Advanced (/dashboard) exposes every input the engine accepts — withholding settings, per-parent activity hours, salary packaging share modes, NSW Health 50/50, ATSI flags, custom workday hours and unpaid activity hours. Use it when you want full control or when Guided's defaults don't match your situation.

Pick Guided if you just want to answer one question quickly — a pay rise, an extra day, a new baby, a fee change. Pick Advanced if you're stress-testing several variables at once, working through a complex tax position (salary packaging + HELP + MLS), or generating a Premium Report you'll share with a partner or adviser.

You don't have to choose once and for all. The toggle is always there.

The quickest thing you can do right now

If you've just upgraded and want an immediate result, the fastest path is the Guided view:

1. Open Scenario A and set your current situation (relationship, combined income, hours, children, fees).
2. Tap a "What if" preset — +1 day at care, +$10k income, Both full-time, or −1 day at care — to populate Scenario B in one click. Or hit Test a change to edit anything yourself.
3. Read the What changed strip: the per-week (or per-fortnight, or per-year) difference, plus tagged badges showing which inputs moved.
4. Hit Reset to clear Scenario B and try a different preset.

If you're in Advanced, the equivalent flow is: set up Scenario A, click Copy A → B, change the one thing you're considering, look at the weekly difference at the top.

That single comparison prevents most surprises. Everything else in the dashboard builds on this.

Nothing you do here updates Services Australia. You're modelling — not reporting.

Working in the Guided view

The Guided view is built around a single question: what changes if I do this? Everything is laid out to keep you in that flow.

The two-scenario layout

Scenario A and Scenario B sit side by side on desktop, stacked on mobile. Each has the same simple inputs:

• Relationship status
• Combined family Adjusted Taxable Income
• Activity hours per fortnight (per parent if partnered)
• Children: age band, service type, days per week, hours per day, weekly or daily fee

A frequency toggle above the result lets you read every figure as per week, per fortnight, or per year — useful for matching how your centre invoices or how your household budgets.

"What if" presets

Four one-tap presets cover the most common changes:

• +1 day at care — adds one day to each child currently in care.
• +$10k income — bumps combined income by $10,000 to test the next CCS step.
• Both full-time — pushes both parents to 76 hours per fortnight.
• −1 day at care — drops one day per child.

Each preset only changes Scenario B, so Scenario A stays as your baseline.

The "What changed" panel

After any preset or manual edit, a green or rose result appears showing the dollar difference (per week, per fortnight, or per year, depending on the toggle), the annual figure, and up to four small badges naming the inputs that moved (for example, Income +$10k, Days 3 → 4). Green means you keep more, rose means you keep less.

The five tabs

Below the comparison, a tab strip groups the deeper tools by question rather than by feature name:

• Cliffs — CCS Stress Test: how close are you to the next income band, and what happens if you cross it.
• Take-home — What You Actually Keep: net per-day value of working an extra day, after tax, HELP and childcare.
• Year — Year Impact Planner: if your income changes mid-year, how does that flow through to balancing.
• FTB — Family Tax Benefit Part A and Part B alongside CCS for both scenarios.
• Extras — links to the full Salary Packaging calculator and the EV Novated Lease impact tool.

Each tab opens with a one-sentence intro explaining what it answers, so you don't have to guess whether you're in the right place. The Generate Report button at the bottom of the page produces the same Premium Report described later in this guide.

When to graduate to Advanced

Switch to Advanced when you need any of the following:

• Per-parent activity hours that don't match the Guided defaults
• A custom withholding percentage other than 5%
• Salary packaging inside the dashboard (Guided links out to the standalone calculator)
• NSW Health 50/50 tax-saving share modelling
• ATSI entitlement flags
• Custom workday hours or unpaid activity hours for the +1 day calculation
• Side-by-side scenario cards with full input control on one screen

Anything you set up in Guided carries over when you switch — you won't lose your scenarios.

Scenario comparison: the core tool

What it's for

Comparing your current situation (Scenario A) against a possible change (Scenario B). The weekly and annual difference updates instantly as you adjust inputs.

Setting up Scenario A

Under Household, enter:

• Your relationship status
• Combined family income (your best estimate of Adjusted Taxable Income)
• Activity hours
• Withholding percentage (default is 5%)

Under Each Child, enter:

• Age band
• Service type
• Days per week and hours per day
• Fee amount

The calculator automatically handles:

• CCS income bands and taper rates
• Hourly rate caps by service type and age
• Subsidised hours based on activity test tiers
• The 3 Day Guarantee (72 subsidised hours per fortnight minimum)
• Youngest child and higher rate rules where eligible

You'll see your weekly fees, CCS paid, weekly out-of-pocket, annual out-of-pocket, and CCS percentage.

Setting up Scenario B

Click Copy A → B, then change only what's different.

Common things people model:

• A pay rise or bonus
• An extra work day
• Reduced hours
• A child moving to school-age care
• A new baby arriving
• A fee increase at your centre
• Starting an EV novated lease

The weekly difference at the top shows the estimated impact under current CCS settings.

CCS Stress Test: how close are you to the next income band?

The CCS Stress Test shows:

• How far your income is from the next threshold
• The estimated weekly and annual impact if you cross it

If it says "You are $279 away", a relatively small income change could shift your subsidy rate.

CCS tapers gradually — it's not a single hard cliff — but even a small step up can change your percentage noticeably.

Use this before:

• Accepting a pay rise or taking on overtime
• Receiving a bonus
• Starting salary packaging
• Taking on contract or freelance work
• Signing an EV novated lease (which can add to your Adjusted Taxable Income via reportable fringe benefits)

Year Impact Planner: will I owe money at tax time?

CCS is paid based on your income estimate. When your actual income is confirmed by the ATO after the financial year, Services Australia compares what you were paid against what you were entitled to. This is called balancing.

• If you were overpaid → you'll have a debt.
• If you were underpaid → you'll receive a top-up.

The Year Impact Planner helps you understand which way you're heading before tax time.

How to use it

Enter:

• When your income actually changed (the event date)
• When you updated your estimate with Services Australia

Click Calculate full-year impact.

The tool splits the financial year into before and after the change, then estimates:

• What you've been paid
• What you were entitled to
• The likely balancing difference

When this matters most

• You received a pay rise or bonus
• You returned to work after parental leave
• Your income fluctuated (self-employment, overtime, variable hours)
• You updated your estimate late

The earlier you update your estimate with Services Australia, the less exposure you carry. But this tool helps you understand where you stand right now.

What happens when my child turns 6?

Turning 6 changes a few things:

• It can affect eligibility for the higher CCS rate (which applies to additional under-6 children in care)
• It shifts which child is considered the youngest for higher rate purposes
• The hourly rate cap changes (school-age care has a lower cap than under-school-age care)

If the birthday falls at the start or end of the year: Use the Scenario comparison — just change the age band in Scenario B and review the difference.

If the birthday falls mid-year: Use the Year Impact Planner. Enter the date their status changes. The tool will model the weighted year — what you receive before and after.

If you currently receive the higher rate for younger children, this step is worth doing before the birthday.

Is working an extra day actually worth it?

This is one of the most common questions families bring to Premium, and one of the hardest to answer without modelling it properly.

Use What You Actually Keep.

Enter each person's taxable income plus any relevant HELP/HECS status, and click If Primary Carer works 1 extra day.

The calculator adds one childcare day, applies CCS rules, estimates income tax, Medicare levy, HELP repayments, and Medicare Levy Surcharge (if applicable), then shows your net weekly and annual position.

The result is what you'd actually take home — after childcare costs and all taxes — not just the gross hourly rate.

Custom hours and unpaid activity

Not everyone works a standard 7.6-hour day. Under Advanced you can set:

• Workday hours — how many hours you actually work per day (set separately for each partner)
• Unpaid activity hours per fortnight — volunteering, study placements, job search hours

These affect the earnings estimate only. They don't change your CCS subsidised hours.

If your paid hours are very low (under 10 hours per fortnight), the calculator will flag that it can't reliably estimate earnings from that pattern — in that case, use Scenario B to model a custom income change instead.

Partnered households

For partnered households, the +1 day estimate is shown for each person separately. On desktop you'll see a side-by-side comparison. The assumptions used (workday hours, unpaid hours) are shown beneath so you can see exactly what went in.

Variable or irregular income

If your income includes commission, overtime, bonuses, or self-employment earnings, model at least two versions:

• A conservative income estimate
• A higher income estimate

Then:

• Check where each sits on the CCS Stress Test
• Use the Year Impact Planner if your estimate needs to be updated mid-year

This gives you a range rather than false precision from a single figure.

EV novated leases and salary packaging

Salary packaging and EV novated leases can increase your Adjusted Taxable Income (ATI) — the income figure CCS and FTB are both based on — even if your take-home pay goes up.

This happens because novated leases generate a reportable fringe benefits amount (RFBA). For CCS purposes, 51% of your RFBA is added to your ATI.

Use the EV tool before signing anything.

Enter:

• Vehicle value
• Lease start date
• Employee contributions

Then review:

• The estimated RFBA and its ATI impact
• Your updated CCS percentage
• The effect on HELP repayments and Medicare Levy Surcharge where applicable
• The combined position via What You Actually Keep

The savings from an EV lease can be significant — but so can the CCS and FTB flow-on effects. Model it first.

FTB Estimator: see CCS and Family Tax Benefit together

When your income changes, it doesn't just affect CCS. Family Tax Benefit Part A and Part B are also income-tested — at different thresholds.

The FTB Estimator is in the dashboard below What You Actually Keep. It uses the same income figures as your CCS scenario and updates automatically when you switch between Scenario A and B.

What it shows

• FTB Part A (per child, income-tested)
• FTB Part B (based on secondary earner income)
• Combined annual FTB estimate
• The assumptions used

Why this matters

A pay rise can simultaneously reduce your CCS percentage and your FTB Part A and phase out FTB Part B — and these cutoffs don't all hit at the same income level. Seeing all three together gives you a clearer picture of your real financial position.

For separated parents, you can also enter care percentage and maintenance income where applicable.

Premium Report

Once you've modelled your scenarios, you can generate a personalised PDF from the dashboard.

The report covers:

• Executive summary of your subsidy position
• CCS rate, hours entitlement, and withholding settings
• Per-child cost drivers and gap fee breakdown
• Income sensitivity analysis
• Work participation breakdown (including the +1 day result and assumptions)
• Year Impact reconciliation estimate (if applicable)
• Higher rate and ATSI entitlement details where relevant
• FTB Part A and Part B estimates

It's designed to be saved or printed — useful for working through decisions with a partner, employer, or financial adviser.

The right order for any major decision

When something significant is changing, this is the order that gives you the clearest picture. The same order works in both Guided and Advanced — the labels are just slightly different (Cliffs / Take-home / Year / FTB tabs in Guided, named cards in Advanced).

1. Model the change in Scenario B (preset or manual edit)
2. Check proximity to the next income band — Cliffs tab in Guided, CCS Stress Test in Advanced
3. If it's happening mid-year, run the Year tab / Year Impact Planner
4. Review Take-home / What You Actually Keep to see the net position
5. Check FTB to see how Family Tax Benefit moves alongside CCS
6. Generate the Premium Report to save or share your findings

How this differs from Services Australia

This tool estimates your situation based on current CCS settings and the figures you enter. It's designed for planning — not for lodging claims or updating your income estimate.

Services Australia makes the final assessment using your actual Adjusted Taxable Income (confirmed by the ATO), your confirmed activity test hours, enrolment data from your provider, and official reconciliation rules.

All results shown here are estimates only. Final CCS entitlement is determined by Services Australia.

If you need to update your income estimate or check your actual payments, do that via myGov or by calling Services Australia on 136 150.