Amendments to the Child Care Subsidy Minister’s Rules have been introduced as part of the Australian Government’s ongoing commitment to improving child safety. The amendments will implement a package of time-critical measures from 1 July 2026.
The updates aim to remove stigma from Additional Child Care Subsidy (ACCS) child wellbeing support, strengthen child safety by extending mandatory child safety training to In Home Care (IHC) and Community Child Care Fund Restricted (CCCFR) Grant funded services, and make it easier for preschools to deliver outside school hours care.
Amendments include:
- updates to the language used to describe ACCS child wellbeing
- updates to ACCS transition to work study requirements to refer to occupations in shortage
- extension of conditions around provider approvals
- updates to checks that approved providers must undertake for persons with management or control (PMCs) and other specified persons, including ASIC, criminal history, working with children checks, insolvency, and digital verification requirements
- making child safety training for staff a condition of approval for IHC and CCCFR Grant funded services
- prescribing minimum operating periods for certain CCCFR Grant funded services
- administrative changes to remove duplicative regulatory requirements for standalone preschool services to deliver CCS-approved out of school hours care (OSHC).
Most amendments are set to take effect on 1 July 2026.