Proposed legislation introduced to parliament on Wednesday will scrap the activity test and give thousands more Indigenous children access to early education, experts say.
The Early Childhood Education and Care (Three Day Guarantee) Bill 2025 introduced by Minister for Early Childhood Education, Anne Aly, proposes a three-day guarantee on subsidised childcare.
It will seek to partially abolish the activity test, guaranteeing three days of subsidies for families earning up to $530,000.
SNAICC – National Voice for our Children welcomed the "life changing" legislation, which they say will give thousands of Indigenous families access to early childhood education and care (ECEC) by scrapping the activity test.
The new legislation will give First Nations families 100 hours of subsidised ECEC each fortnight, chief executive Catherine Liddle said.
The Arrernte/Luritja woman said closing the gap starts with children and early education and care, and argued evidence showed "vulnerable children get the greatest benefit from accessing quality ECEC".
"SNAICC has advocated for many years to remove the Activity Test, which created barriers to Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander families accessing subsidised care. Many families [have] completely disengaged because there is not enough subsided care available," Ms Liddle said.
"Access to ECEC services means our children are more likely to be developmentally ready for big school and they are more likely to access allied health and NDIS supports needed for them to thrive in life."
Speaking at a childcare centre in the ACT on Monday, Dr Aly said the changes will give "more than 100,000 families across Australia will have access to more subsidised care – three days a week".
"Changing the activity test to ensure that there is a three day guarantee means that every family, no matter what their circumstances, and every child, no matter what their background, no matter what their postcode, no matter where they live, and no matter what their parents' circumstances are, has access to good quality early childhood education and care that helps them to grow, that helps them to thrive and that has a lasting impact throughout their life," she said.
Ms Liddle urged "bipartisan support across Parliament for this commitment," calling it a "crucial step toward establishing a universal, free early childhood education and care system" which would ensure a more "prosperous, equitable, and sustainable future for all Australian children".
Whilst Greens have said they will push for the activity test to be scrapped entirely, they will ultimately support the bill.
"We recognise how important it is to bring cost-of-living relief to families and parents right across this country," Greens early childhood education spokeswoman Steph Hodgins-May said, despite calling the legislation "half baked".
"But let's be very clear, the Greens will be campaigning through to the election to keep [Peter] Dutton out and to ensure that we elect more Greens to deliver genuinely universal, free and high-quality education for kids."
Indigenous Independent senator Lidia Thorpe will support the bill, while The Australian reported fellow independent David Pocock said he supported it in principle but hadn't seen the proposed legislation.
The Coalition are against the proposal, which will cost an estimated $427m over five years, and have refused to say if they would reintroduce the test for those three days should they form government after this year's federal election.
"We'll have a look at what the legislation says and go from there. We're getting to the pointy end of our policies now and we're working through that with the party," opposition childcare spokeswoman Angie Bell told Sky News.
SNAICC have also said they support the government's $1 billion fund to build or expand more than 160 childcare centres across the country with ACCOs as a priority.
"Access to childcare places in regional and remote areas where many Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander families live is a significant factor in early learning," Ms Liddle said.
"Every child deserves a solid foundation in life and scrapping the activity test alongside building and expanding services in regional and remote areas will make a significant difference to the everyday lives of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander children and families."
