3-DAY CHILDCARE GUARANTEE

From 5 January 2026, your family is eligible for the 3 Day Childcare Guarantee if you currently qualify for the Child Care Subsidy (CCS) and your combined household adjusted taxable income is below $533,280 per year. There is no separate application; 3 Day Guarantee eligibility is determined automatically through Services Australia.

The 3 Day Childcare Guarantee removes the activity test for the first 72 hours of subsidised care per fortnight, which means parents on parental leave, parents looking for work, those studying or training part time, and those caring for family members at home all qualify for the minimum three subsidised days per week, regardless of their activity level.

Some families are entitled to up to 100 hours of subsidised care per fortnight, including families caring for an Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait Islander child, families with more than 48 hours of recognised activity per fortnight, and families receiving Additional Child Care Subsidy (ACCS) payments or approved exemptions.

If you’re unsure of your CCS eligibility, contact Services Australia directly or use our Subsidy Estimator to get an estimate of your out of pocket childcare costs at any Mini Masterminds Sydney centre.

Yes, from 5 January 2026, the 3 Day Childcare Guarantee removes the activity test for the first 72 hours of subsidised care per fortnight. Under the previous Child Care Subsidy (CCS) rules, families needed to demonstrate a minimum level of recognised activity (work, study, training or volunteering) to access subsidised hours, which left many families with reduced working hours or caring responsibilities receiving less support than they needed.

From 5 January 2026, every CCS eligible family automatically receives a minimum of 72 hours of subsidised care per fortnight, regardless of their activity level. No additional application is required; the activity test change is applied automatically through Services Australia.

Families with higher levels of recognised activity can still access up to 100 hours of subsidised care per fortnight. This applies to families with more than 48 hours of recognised activity per fortnight, families caring for an Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait Islander child, families receiving Additional Child Care Subsidy (ACCS) payments, and those with approved exemptions or exceptional circumstances.

If you’re unsure of your CCS eligibility, contact Services Australia directly or use our Subsidy Estimator to get an estimate of your out of pocket childcare costs at any Mini Masterminds Sydney centre.

Yes, the 3 Day Childcare Guarantee provides a minimum of 72 hours of subsidised care per fortnight, but it is a floor, not a ceiling. Families with higher levels of recognised activity can access up to 100 subsidised hours per fortnight (equivalent to around four to five days per week).

The 100 hour entitlement applies to families with more than 48 hours of recognised activity per fortnight, which includes work, study, training, volunteering or approved caring responsibilities. It also applies automatically to families caring for an Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait Islander child, families receiving Additional Child Care Subsidy (ACCS) payments, and those with approved exemptions or exceptional circumstances.

If you currently book four or five days per week and meet the activity threshold, your subsidised childcare hours remain unchanged under the new 3 Day Guarantee; the policy is designed to protect existing entitlements while extending the baseline for all eligible families.

At Mini Masterminds Sydney, our enrolment team can help you work out the day pattern that suits your situation. Use our Subsidy Estimator to estimate your out of pocket childcare costs, or call us on 1300 336 464 for a personalised conversation.

Under the 3 Day Childcare Guarantee, families caring for an Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait Islander child are automatically entitled to 100 subsidised hours of childcare per fortnight (the higher tier of the Guarantee), regardless of family income or activity level. This entitlement recognises the profound importance of early learning for First Nations children and removes any financial or activity related barriers to childcare participation.

Eligibility for the 3 Day Childcare Guarantee is determined automatically through Services Australia from 5 January 2026, with no separate application required.

At Mini Masterminds Sydney childcare centres, we warmly welcome Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander children and families across our Sydney network. Our early learning programs embed First Nations perspectives throughout the curriculum in line with the Early Years Learning Framework, which recognises Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander cultures as a core part of Australia’s identity and our children’s shared learning experience.

To learn more or discuss your child’s enrolment, please contact our enrolment team on 1300 336 464; we’d love to welcome your family to Mini Masterminds.

The 3 Day Childcare Guarantee commenced on 5 January 2026. From that date, every eligible Australian family automatically receives a minimum of 72 hours of subsidised childcare per fortnight (around three full days per week) at any approved early learning service, including all Mini Masterminds Sydney childcare centres.

The 3 Day Guarantee is administered by Services Australia through the existing Child Care Subsidy (CCS) system, with no separate application required. Families already receiving the Child Care Subsidy were transitioned automatically from 5 January 2026.

If your family is not yet enrolled in childcare and would like to access the 3 Day Childcare Guarantee, contact our enrolment team on 1300 336 464 or book a tour at your nearest Mini Masterminds Sydney centre to get started.

Childcare savings under the 3 Day Childcare Guarantee vary depending on your family income, your centre’s daily fee and the days you book, so the impact looks different for every family. Those who will see the greatest benefit are families who previously couldn’t meet the CCS activity test and were receiving fewer subsidised hours as a result. For these families, the shift to a guaranteed 72 hours per fortnight can represent a meaningful reduction in weekly out of pocket childcare costs.

Rather than estimating in general terms, the most accurate way to understand your 3 Day Guarantee saving is to use our Subsidy Estimator, which calculates your specific out of pocket cost at any Mini Masterminds Sydney childcare centre after the Child Care Subsidy and 3 Day Guarantee are applied. For a personalised conversation about your family’s situation, contact our enrolment team on 1300 336 464.

No, there is no separate application for the 3 Day Childcare Guarantee. If your family already receives the Child Care Subsidy (CCS), your 3 Day Guarantee entitlement updated automatically from 5 January 2026 through the existing Services Australia system.

If you are not yet receiving the Child Care Subsidy but believe you may be eligible, you can apply through your myGov account linked to Centrelink. Once your CCS is approved, the 3 Day Childcare Guarantee is applied automatically to your subsidised hours.

Families enrolling at Mini Masterminds Sydney for the first time can apply for CCS as part of the childcare enrolment process; our enrolment team is happy to guide you through what’s needed and help make the process as straightforward as possible.

The 3 Day Childcare Guarantee gives families the confidence to enrol for three days a week at Mini Masterminds Sydney childcare centres, knowing that subsidised hours are secured regardless of activity level. For families who were previously hesitant to commit to three days due to the activity test, this change removes that uncertainty.

We are seeing strong demand for three day childcare enrolment patterns across our Sydney network, particularly for Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday, so we recommend booking a daycare tour and joining the waitlist early to secure your preferred days.

Three days at Mini Masterminds includes everything within the one daily fee: chef prepared meals, Huggies nappies and wipes, sports, yoga, cooking, language and music programs, Reading Eggs, and access to our secure parent app. No add ons, no surprise charges.

Use our Subsidy Estimator to calculate your out of pocket childcare cost under the 3 Day Guarantee, or call our enrolment team on 1300 336 464 to discuss availability at your nearest Mini Masterminds Sydney centre.