Yesterday, the Early Childhood Education and Care (Three Day Guarantee) Bill 2025 passed Parliament.
The 3-day guarantee will provide cost-of-living relief to families and help ensure that children can access the benefits of high-quality early education and care.
From 5 January 2026:
- all CCS eligible families will get 3 days’ subsidised care each week for each child
- families caring for First Nations children will get 100 hours of subsidised care each fortnight for each child.
Families will still get 100 hours of subsidised care each fortnight for each child if they:
- work, train, study or volunteer for more than 48 hours each fortnight, or
- have an exemption.
How much CCS families can get depends on their circumstances, including:
- their combined family income
- hourly rate caps
- number of children in their care
- age of children in their care.
Minister for Education Jason Clare said, “This is all about giving our kids the best start in life. It’s all about opening the doors of opportunity.”
Minister for Early Childhood Education Dr Anne Aly said, “Investing in the early years is an investment in Australia's future – there is no better investment than giving our littlest Australians the best possible start in life.”
This change is part of the government’s pathway toward a universal early education and care system.
For more information, visit the Ministers' media release.