Start with the date you need care
Your first day back at work is the anchor. The planner puts the first childcare day 2 weeks earlier so you can try shorter days and work through drop-offs before your first day back. That gap is a planning suggestion, not a centre rule. Change your return date if you want a longer or shorter handover. Ask your chosen service what its orientation looks like.
Enter your baby's birth date or due date, the date you expect to return to work, and how many days of care you want each week. The planner uses the dates you enter, whether your baby has arrived or is still due. Your plan stays in the page URL so you can share it.
Join waitlists early, then visit
The Victorian Government recommends joining preferred waitlists 12 months or more before the start date you hope for. Use that as an early planning prompt wherever you live, then check each service's own availability and enrolment process. Join several suitable lists. Ask if there is a fee before you join. A waitlist place does not reserve care.
The tour date in this planner is a suggested checkpoint 9 months before care starts. It is not a government deadline. A visit lets you ask about available days, hours, meals, fees, orientation and the educators your child would spend time with. The Victorian Government says most services welcome a visit. If your waitlist date is already past, contact services now rather than waiting for the next marker.
Claim CCS before the first day
Services Australia says a Child Care Subsidy claim can be made up to 6 months before care starts. It can be backdated to the first Monday of a CCS fortnight, no more than 28 days before you submit it. That backdate is a safety net, not a reason to wait. Your centre submits an enrolment and you confirm its details in your Centrelink account through myGov. Your child must attend at least once in the first 26 weeks after CCS starts or the payment may stop.
From 5 January 2026, the 3 Day Guarantee gives CCS-eligible families at least 72 subsidised hours a fortnight, described as 3 days a week. You still need a place, an eligible claim and may pay a gap fee. For more hours, Services Australia assesses recognised participation or exemptions. In a couple, it considers both parents and uses the lower participation level. Parental leave can count while you are expected to return to work.
Make the handover work
Check the immunisation paperwork ahead of enrolment. In NSW, a service needs an approved Australian Immunisation Register document showing that a child is up to date for their age, on a recognised catch-up schedule or has a medical exemption. Rules differ elsewhere, so ask your service and check your state or territory requirements. The planner's document date is a suggested reminder, not an immunisation schedule.
Ask the service about a gentle orientation, and plan who can cover shorter first days. The partner's second leave block may be useful here. Map both parents' leave and line it up with your settling-in date. You can return to part-time work and keep taking Parental Leave Pay on days you do not work, subject to the payment's rules. The planner does not calculate your subsidy amount or decide whether your family is eligible.
These dates are planning prompts based on published government guidance, not legal or financial advice.