Key Child Care Subsidy Changes for 2026

What is the Child Care Subsidy?

If you are already using childcare or early learning, you probably know the basics. For anyone who is new to it:

  • The Child Care Subsidy is a national payment that helps families with the cost of approved early childhood education and care, including long day care, family day care, occasional care and outside school hours care.
  • The Australian Government pays CCS straight to your service, and you pay the gap fee (the difference).
  • How much you get depends on:
    • your family income
    • your child’s age
    • the type of service you use
    • your hours of recognised participation (e.g. study, work or volunteering

From January 2026, the 3 Day Guarantee changes the minimum hours of subsidised care, so more children can attend early learning more regularly.

Key Child Care Subsidy Changes for 2026

What is changing?

When?

What this means for our family?

3 Day Guarantee Starts

From 5 January 2026

If you are CCS-eligible, your child will get
at least 72 hours of subsidised child care per fortnight.
That is usually about 3 days a week in a long day care
setting or Vacation Care period.

Less focus on the activity test for the first block of hours

From 5 January 2026

Even if you have low, irregular or no recognised activity
(work, study, training), your child can still receive those
72 subsidised hours if you are eligible for CCS.

More support for First Nations children

From 5 January 2026

Families caring for a First Nations child can receive
100 hours of subsidised care per fortnight
for that child.

What does the 3 Day Guarantee actually do?

The 3 Day Guarantee replaces the old CCS activity test for the first block of hours and sets a clear minimum for everyone who is CCS-eligible.

Minimum Hours From 5 January 2026

Family situation

Minimum CCS hours per child, per fortnight

What this can look like for you

Any CCS-eligible family

72 hours

Around three 10–12 hour days per fortnight in a long day care service, depending on session length (many services count 10–12 hour days).

Caring for a First Nations child

100 hours

Up to around five 10-hour days per fortnight of subsidised early learning.

Families with high participation (for example full-time work or study)

Up to 100 hours

Families with high participation (for example, full-time work or study)

For many families who currently receive 0, 24 or 36 hours of subsidised care because of the activity test, this is a significant increase.

Who is eligible for the Child Care Subsidy?

You may be eligible for the Child Care Subsidy (CCS) if:

  • You care for a child who is under 13 and not attending secondary school
  • Your child is enrolled with an approved child care service
  • You are responsible for paying the fees
  • You meet certain residency and immunisation requirements

We recommend visiting Services Australia and logging into your myGov account to review if you can start a claim.

Do I need to reapply for CCS to get the new hours?

Generally, no. If you already receive CCS and your details are current, Services Australia will apply the new hours automatically from 5 January 2026.

You should still:

  • Log in to myGov and check your family income estimate
  • Update any changes to work, study or family situation

Will my fees go down?

The Child Care Subsidy changes affect your hours, not your subsidy percentage. Your gap fee will still depend on:

  • Your CCS percentage
  • Your service’s daily fee and session structure
  • How many hours or days you actually use

However, if you used to receive fewer hours (for example, 24 or 36 hours each fortnight), you may now be able to spread your subsidy over more days, which can make regular attendance more affordable.