The Early Learning 3-Day Guarantee – A Guide for Parents
20 January 2026
For many families, the cost of child care is a significant barrier to early learning - in Queensland, the average weekly cost of child care services ranges between $400 - $500.
To help more families access child care and early learning, the Australian Government is introducing a new policy known as the 3-Day Guarantee. Here’s what parents need to know about how the 3-Day Guarantee is changing childcare support in Queensland.
What Is the Early Learning 3-Day Guarantee?
The 3-Day Guarantee is an Australia-wide government policy that increases child care support for families that are eligible for Child Care Subsidy (CCS).
The 3-Day Guarantee ensures that CCS-eligible families can receive at least three days of subsidised childcare each week, regardless of whether they meet the activity test requirement.
Under the new policy, eligible children will now have a minimum of 72 hours of subsidised care per fortnight (the same as three days of care each week).
The 3-Day Guarantee will apply from 5 January 2026 onwards.
Who Is Eligible for the 3-Day Guarantee?
Eligibility for the Early Learning 3-Day Guarantee is tied directly to eligibility for Child Care Subsidy. Families that already qualify for CCS or those that will be eligible in future can access the guaranteed minimum hours of subsidised care.
To be eligible for CCS, families must:
- Have a child who is 13 or younger who is not attending secondary school
- Meet the income threshold requirement
- Use an approved child care provider
- Meet the residency requirements
There is also an activity test requirement to access CCS, but this is changing under the 3-Day Guarantee.
What Is Changing for Existing CCS-Eligible Families
Under the previous CCS eligibility criteria, the activity test required parents to have at least 8 hours of recognised activity per week to receive Child Care Subsidy. Hours spent at work, applying for employment, studying, or volunteering activities are added up each week and compared against the activity test. Families with more hours of recognised activity are eligible for more hours of subsidised child care.
The 3-Day Guarantee removes the minimum activity-test requirement, allowing families who meet the other CCS requirements to receive at least 3 days of subsidised early learning each week, regardless of their number of recognised activity hours.
This means families with limited or no recognised activity due to changes in work hours, caring responsibilities, or life circumstances will be able to plan around a reliable baseline of three subsidised child care days each week.
Having access to at least three days of child care will help families commit to regular early learning schedules, maintain consistent attendance, and allow children to build stable relationships with educators and peers.
What Is Staying the Same for Child Care Services
While the 3-Day Guarantee changes how families access subsidised hours, the other aspects of child care subsidy remain the same.
The way families access subsidised child care is kept the same - child care subsidy is still paid to the provider, with any remaining gap fee payable by families. Providers will continue to record attendance, manage enrolments, and handle the administrative aspects of CCS on behalf of parents. Families will still have to meet the income threshold requirements to access child care subsidy.
Families that already receive more than three days of subsidised care can continue to access higher entitlements based on activity levels. The 3-Day Guarantee does not reduce existing support for these families.
How to Apply for the 3-Day Guarantee
Families who are already receiving child care subsidy will automatically be granted the three-day weekly minimum starting 5 January 2026. New families eligible for CCS after this date will need to apply through Services Australia to access the 3-Day Guarantee.
Mary MacKillop North Queensland is an approved child care provider - we have five early learning centres in Townsville, Ingham, Mount Isa, and Palm Island. We can provide you with helpful information about the 3-Day Guarantee and the Free Kindy program in Queensland. Get in touch with our team to schedule a visit to one of our early learning centres.
