The 3 Day Guarantee: what changed in 2026 and what it means for your enrolments

The CCS activity test used to decide how many subsidised hours a family could claim, based on how many hours the parents worked, studied or volunteered. From 5 January 2026 the Department of Education replaced it with a minimum of 72 hours a fortnight for every eligible family.

The "before" column comes from the Parliamentary Library's digest of the 3 Day Guarantee Bill. A few details matter when you explain this to families:

• It applies to centre-based day care, family day care, outside school hours care and in home care.
• Families already receiving CCS did not need to do anything to get 72 hours.
• To get 100 hours for an Aboriginal or Torres Strait Islander child, the family has to tell Services Australia. Telling them is voluntary, and without it the family may get 72 hours.
• It is not a guarantee of a place, and families still pay a gap fee.
• The income test did not change. For 2026-27, the CCS rate is 90% for family incomes up to $88,520, falls 1% for every $5,000 above that, and reaches zero at $538,520.

The families who gained are the ones with 16 or fewer hours of recognised activity a fortnight. In practice that is a parent at home with a toddler, a parent working a few casual shifts, or a parent between jobs. Before January, most of them could claim between zero and 36 hours a fortnight. Now they can claim 72.

The government's fact sheet estimated that around 66,700 families would be better off in the first full year, and more than 100,000 would be able to access more subsidised hours. Its example of a couple on $90,000 with one child in care for 36 hours a week is $230 a week better off, or $11,400 a year.

That $11,400 figure is the best case, not the typical one. When the Bill was introduced in February 2025, the Minister put the average saving at $1,370 a year, and the Parliamentary Library noted that only around 40,000 families had entitlements below 72 hours in March 2024. If you use the $11,400 figure in your marketing, say who it applies to.

Not across the board. G8 Education, the largest operator that publishes its occupancy, reported average group occupancy of 57.0% for the six months to 30 June 2026, down 7.5 percentage points on a year earlier. That half year included the first six months of the guarantee. We cover the full results in what G8's 2026 occupancy drop means for independent centres.

More subsidised hours lower the cost of the second and third day. They do not make the decision to start care for a family who was not looking. A parent at home still has to hear about the change, believe it applies to them, and find a centre near them with three days free. Every one of those steps is marketing and enquiry handling, not policy.

So the opportunity is real, but it sits with centres that tell these families the change applies to them and then handle the enquiry well.

Many families lock in next year's care between October and January, so this is the window to get the message right. If your 2027 planning is still open, our guide to 2027 enrolments before January covers the timing.

1. Check how your days add up against 72 hours. A session of care can be up to 12 hours, so three days a week fits inside 72 subsidised hours a fortnight. A fourth day usually does not. Four 10-hour days a week is 80 hours a fortnight, so a family on 72 hours pays the full fee for 8 of them. Know this before a family adds a day and finds it on their statement.

2. Show the gap fee, not the daily fee. A parent at home who sees "$165 a day" will assume they cannot afford it. Show what three days actually costs after CCS at a few income levels, or send them to a CCS gap fee calculator set up with your fees.

3. Talk to the families who gained. The parent at home and the parent on a few casual shifts are the audience. "No work hours needed for three subsidised days" speaks to them directly. Our Google and Meta ads service runs that for centres, and our article on childcare ads that produce enrolments, not just leads shows how to measure it.

4. Get the phone and tour answer right. Whoever answers the phone should be able to say, in one breath: since January, every family eligible for CCS gets at least 72 subsidised hours a fortnight, which covers three of our days; you do not need to be working; and what you pay depends on your family income, so here is what three days would cost you. The childcare tour guide covers what happens after that call.

5. Know which three-day patterns you can offer. If Tuesday to Thursday is full in the toddler room, say so and offer what you do have. A well-run waitlist keeps those families warm until a pattern opens.

6. Follow up within a day. A parent who has just learned they qualify is likely to be comparing centres that same week. In one Melbourne long day care centre, 28 enquiries over four months led to 20 booked tours, and reported occupancy moved from 71% to 84% with consistent follow-up and tours alongside the ads. The first 30 days of an enrolment matter just as much once they sign.

• "Three free days." Families still pay a gap fee unless they are in a narrow set of circumstances.
• "Guaranteed place." The guarantee is about subsidised hours, not a place at your centre.
• "Save $11,400 a year." That is the government's example for one family profile. Quote it with the profile, or use your own worked figures.
• "You need to apply for the 3 Day Guarantee." Families already on CCS get it automatically. New families apply for CCS through their myGov account as usual.

If you want to know where your centre is losing these enquiries, from the first ad to the signed enrolment form, take the free Occupancy Health Audit.

When did the 3 Day Guarantee start?

The 3 Day Guarantee started on 5 January 2026. From that date the Child Care Subsidy activity test was replaced with a minimum of 72 subsidised hours a fortnight for every eligible family, regardless of how many hours the parents work, study or volunteer.

How many hours of subsidised care do families get under the 3 Day Guarantee?

Every CCS-eligible family gets at least 72 hours of subsidised care a fortnight for each child, which is about three days a week. Families with more than 48 hours of recognised activity a fortnight, or caring for an Aboriginal or Torres Strait Islander child, get 100 hours a fortnight.

Do parents need to be working to get the 3 Day Guarantee?

No. Since 5 January 2026, families do not need to work, study or volunteer to get 72 hours of subsidised care a fortnight. More than 48 hours a fortnight of work, study or volunteering is one of the ways a family moves from 72 to 100 hours.

Does the 3 Day Guarantee mean three days of free childcare?

No. The 3 Day Guarantee covers the number of subsidised hours, not the cost. Families still pay the difference between the centre's fee and their CCS amount, which depends on family income. For 2026-27, the CCS rate is 90% for family incomes up to $88,520 and falls as income rises.

Do families need to apply for the 3 Day Guarantee?

Families already receiving the Child Care Subsidy did not need to do anything. New families apply for CCS through Services Australia as usual. Families caring for an Aboriginal or Torres Strait Islander child need to tell Services Australia to get 100 hours.