Early Childhood

In Australia, early childhood education and care is delivered by providers and services in the states and territories and subsidised by the Australian Government.

For providers

The Child Care Subsidy is generally paid to approved providers who pass it on to families as a fee reduction.
For families

Families receive help with the cost of early childhood education and care through the Child Care Subsidy.
About

High quality and affordable early childhood education and care gives children the best start in life and means parents and carers can work, train, study and volunteer.
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Budget 2025–26

In the 2025–26 Budget, the Australian Government has committed additional support for providers and families affected by ex-Tropical Cyclone Alfred. A one-off $10,000 payment will be available for early childhood education and care services that were closed for an extended period during the ex-cyclone event and waived families’ gap fees for that period.

Find out more
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Current periods of emergency

There are a range of CCS periods of emergency underway in parts of Australia.

Read about support options
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Building a universal early education and care system

The Australian Government has announced next steps to building a universal early education and care system.

Find out more
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Wage increase for early childhood workforce

We’re funding a wage increase for the early childhood education and care workforce through a worker retention payment.

Learn about the worker retention payment

Providers can get extra help to engage with the worker retention payment.

Tell me about this support

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Strategy and evaluation
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Latest news
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Online learning
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Provider how-to

Easy how-to guides for early childhood education and care providers to administer Child Care Subsidy.

View our how-to guides
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Grants and extra support

There is a range of extra support available to providers, educators and staff, and families.

Learn about extra support

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