Childcare and early education

Types

• Long Day Care (LDC) — 0–6 years, typically open 6:30 AM to 6:30 PM. Most common.
• Family Day Care — small home-based settings, fewer kids per educator. Often a bit cheaper than long day care.
• Outside School Hours Care (OSHC) — before/after school care and vacation care, on school grounds or nearby.
• Preschool / Kindergarten — usually for 4-year-olds, year before school. Funded variously by state and federal governments — many states now offer free or low-cost 3-year-old and 4-year-old kinder (free 4-year-old kinder in Victoria, free 3-year-old kinder rolling out in several states, free preschool in NSW for 3- and 4-year-olds at participating services).

Costs

• Long Day Care fees in major cities before any subsidy are substantial. Verify current rates with centres in your area.
• The Child Care Subsidy (CCS) reduces this based on family income — verify your subsidy percentage at https://www.servicesaustralia.gov.au/child-care-subsidy

The 3-Day Guarantee — from 5 January 2026

• Every CCS-eligible family now gets at least 72 hours of subsidised childcare each fortnight, regardless of how many hours either parent is working, studying or volunteering. That's 3 days per week.
• The activity test still exists for hours above the 72-hour floor, but it affects far fewer families since the Guarantee started. For most low-and-middle-income families, you no longer lose subsidised hours during a quiet work month.

Income thresholds (2025–26, verify on the Services Australia page)

• Families earning up to $85,279 get a 90% subsidy on each child's fees.
• Families earning between $85,279 and $535,279 get a sliding subsidy — the rate drops 1% for every $5,000 of family income.
• Families earning above $535,279 don't qualify for CCS.
• Families earning under $367,563 with more than one child can get a higher rate (up to 95%) for younger children — the "higher CCS for second and additional children" rule.

Activity test (still applies above 72-hour floor)

• Recognised activity includes paid work, study, training, looking for work, volunteering and (in some cases) actively setting up a business.
• Hours of activity by the parent with the fewer activity hours sets the family's subsidised-hours cap above the 72-hour Guarantee floor.
• Genuine 4-week breaks (annual leave, semester breaks) maintain your activity-test result.

Preschool subsidy

• If your child is in an approved preschool or kinder program in the year before school, you can get at least 36 hours of subsidised care per fortnight regardless of activity. This sits inside or alongside the 3-Day Guarantee.
• State-funded free kinder programs sit on top of CCS — many families pay $0 for 4-year-old kinder in Victoria, with CCS picking up the long-day-care wrap-around.

Waiting lists

• In major cities, popular centres have waitlists of 6–18 months. Get on multiple lists before your child needs care.
• Some councils run their own not-for-profit centres with shorter waitlists and lower fees. Worth checking your local council's website.
• If you're moving suburbs or cities, put your child on the new area's waitlists before you move — early notice often beats moving date.

For school-age children, see schools.