Early Years Learning Framework: What families need to know
June 23, 2026
If you’re a Melbourne family planning care for 2027, one question tends to sit underneath all the others: how many days will actually be subsidised? For years, the answer depended on how much you and your partner worked or studied. That has changed — and for a lot of families, the change is genuinely good news. This guide explains what the 3 Day Guarantee is, how it works, and what it means as you think about days and enrolment for the year ahead.
Until the start of 2026, the number of subsidised hours a family could access was set by the Child Care Subsidy (CCS) activity test. Under that test, the more work, study, or other recognised activity you did, the more subsidised hours you received. Families with lower recorded activity received fewer hours — and some families received none at all.
On 5 January 2026, the Australian Government replaced the activity test with what’s known as the 3 Day Guarantee. From that date, all CCS-eligible families can access at least 72 hours of subsidised child care each fortnight — three days a week — regardless of their activity level. The Department of Education describes it plainly: every eligible child is now guaranteed at least three days of subsidised early learning each week, whether or not a parent is working or studying.
For families who were previously locked out by the activity test, this is the headline: the barrier to those first three days has been removed.
The mechanics are straightforward. If your family is eligible for the childcare subsidy, you’re entitled to a minimum of 72 hours of subsidised care per fortnight for each eligible child. That’s roughly three full days a week, and it applies no matter how much recognised activity the parents do.
A few details worth holding onto:
The 3 day guarantee doesn’t change how your rate of subsidy is calculated — only how many hours you’re guaranteed. We’ll come back to that distinction, because it’s the point families most often misread.
Three days is the guaranteed minimum. If your family needs four or five days of subsidised care, that’s still available — the pathway simply looks a little different from the guarantee.
Families can access up to 100 hours of subsidised care per fortnight (around five days) if you and your partner, if you have one, each do more than 48 hours of recognised participation every fortnight. Recognised participation covers activities like paid work, study and training, and certain other approved activities. Where both parents are involved, the lower of the two participation levels is used to work out your hours.
Two further points matter for Melbourne families:
So the simplest way to think about it: everyone who’s eligible gets three days automatically, and the activity requirements now only come into play for the fourth and fifth day.
This is where care is worth taking. The 3 Day Guarantee changes the number of subsidised hours you’re entitled to — it does not change the rate of subsidy you receive, and it doesn’t make care free.
Your subsidy percentage is still worked out from your family income, the type of care you use, and the hourly rate cap set by the government. Those rules are unchanged. And under the current CCS rules, most families will still pay a gap fee — the out-of-pocket difference between the provider’s fee and the subsidy. The exact gap depends entirely on your own circumstances, so two families using the same centre can pay quite different amounts.
Out-of-pocket cost depends on your family’s Child Care Subsidy entitlement, which is determined by Services Australia. Fees and government contributions are subject to change — use our subsidy calculator for an estimate.
For most families, the answer is: nothing.
If you’re returning to work after parental leave, moving from one arrangement to another, or enrolling a first child, it’s worth checking your CCS status well before your intended start date rather than in the final weeks.
For many Melbourne families, the 3 Day Guarantee makes a consistent three-day week possible for the first time — and consistency is where early learning does its quiet work. Three regular days give a child time to settle into a rhythm, to build friendships that carry from one week to the next, and to feel a real sense of belonging in the room.
That’s a big part of why we begin every enrolment with two one-hour orientation play sessions, and why we share Daily Routine updates covering meals, sleeps, and milk. Across our six Melbourne centres, our educators plan for the child who attends three days as thoughtfully as the child who attends five. Whether you’re returning to work, studying, or at home with more time, the days your child spends with us are built on the same Reggio-inspired, EYLF-aligned practice — the same kitchen garden, the same chef-prepared meals, the same considered environments.
Put simply: if the guarantee has opened up a steady three-day week for your family, those three days are well worth planning early.
If you’re mapping out care for next year, now is a good time to look at days and availability at your nearest centre. Places fill at different rates across rooms and age groups, so the surest step is to come and see us. Book a tour, walk the rooms and the kitchen garden, and we’ll talk through the days that would suit your family.
Places are subject to availability and room capacity. Enquire for current availability at your centre and age band.
Book a tour of your nearest Starfish centre →
This article is general information, not financial or eligibility advice. Your entitlement is specific to your family and is determined by Services Australia.