Government pledges three days of subsidised childcare if re-elected

THE federal government has pledged to provide families with three days of subsidised childcare each week if re-elected next year, as it works towards building a “universal” early childhood education system.

From January 2026, the “three-day guarantee” will replace the activity test – which requires a parent to work, study or volunteer to qualify for the childcare subsidy – and will instead allow all families earning up to $530,000 to get at least three days of affordable childcare each week.

The reforms were a key recommendation of the Productivity Commission’s inquiry into Australia’s early childhood education and care sector, which handed down its final report in September, stating a child’s entitlement to subsidised childcare should not depend on how many hours their parents work.

Prime Minister Anthony Albanese said the activity test was putting extra pressure on families who were already doing the hard yards of looking for work.

“Too often, the children missing out on early education are the ones for whom it would make the biggest difference.

“I know this for certain: parents do not need to go through a bureaucracy or work a certain number of hours, to want the best possible education for their child.”

The government has also promised to establish a $1 billion fund to build and expand more than 160 early education and care centres in the areas where they are most needed, including regional Australia.

The fund will be rolled out from July 2025 and will include a focus on co-locating services on school sites wherever possible and on supporting the growth of high-quality not-for-profit early learning providers.

Mr Albanese said the fund was the single biggest investment ever made by an Australian government in new childcare services.

“We are ready to invest in owning these centres, to keep the doors of opportunity open for children in these communities.

“Building centres means we can work together with state and local government, philanthropic organisations and communities themselves, meaning we can bring a whole range of related and important services under the same roof – childcare, maternal and child health, early learning.”

Corangamite Labor federal member Libby Coker said every child should have the right to quality, affordable early education.

“That’s why we want to build a universal early childhood education system that is simple, affordable and accessible, for every family.

“We believe children should have guaranteed access to at least three days of high-quality early education and care – because early education is about changing lives.”

Education Minister Jason Clare said the move was just one part of the federal government’s plans to build a universal early education system.

“We have made childcare cheaper for more than one million families.

“We are delivering a 15 per cent pay rise to build the early education workforce.

“And now we will build more centres to expand access to this essential service in the outer suburbs and the regions to help more Aussie kids benefit from quality early education.”