Updated March 23, 2017 23:56:06

Photo: The reforms will lift the cap on the childcare rebate and include a boost to subsidies. (ABC News: Nick Haggarty)

The legislation for the Federal Government's overhaul of the childcare system has passed the Senate.

The package would lift the cap on the childcare rebate and included a boost to subsidies.

The win for the Coalition comes after savings measures to pay for the changes had already passed the Senate on Wednesday night.

Education Minister Simon Birmingham told the chamber the childcare package would lead to a "simpler, more affordable, more accessible and more flexible" system.

He said around 1 million Australian families balancing work with parenting would benefit from the changes.

"We are proud of this package," Senator Birmingham said.

"We believe these reforms will help Australian families who need it most.

"They deliver the greatest help to the hardest working Australian families and that's not something we will shy away from celebrating at all."

The Opposition and the Greens tried to move amendments to the legislation and called for the minimum hours of care available for every child under the legislation to be changed from 12 to 15.

Labor Senator Katy Gallagher said vulnerable children would not be appropriately covered by two six-hour days of child care per week.

"For many of these children, they don't fit necessarily and their life doesn't fit into convenient 9am to 3pm boxes," Senator Gallagher said.

"Anyone who has worked in childcare, anyone who has any understanding of the children who would fit into this category, would understand that the convenience of two sessions 9am-3pm probably doesn't meet the needs of this particular group."

Greens senator Sarah Hanson-Young pushed for a greater safety net and said the changes would hurt disadvantaged families.

"Yes if you've got a job, if both parents are working, this package is going to be pretty good for you, we all accept that," she said.

It has taken several years for the Government to reach a consensus on new child care measures, so in case you've lost track of where it's at here's what the current proposal is.

"But for the most vulnerable people in our communities, for those that don't have both parents working for a variety of reasons, those children will suffer."

Senator Birmingham dismissed that, saying the activity test for parents to qualify for subsidies took a "light touch" approach and could be reached through four hours of work, volunteering, studying or other related pursuits.

He said the Opposition and the Greens were "desperately" trying to pick holes in what were much-needed changes for a broken system.

"This should have been core territory for the Labor party," he said.

"This is the type of reform the Labor party should have been champing at the bit to support."

Senator Derryn Hinch passed an amendment to the bill that would see 15,000 families earning above $350,000 miss out on any form of childcare subsidy.

Due to that amendment, the bill will now return to the House of Representatives for consideration.

The Government is expected to have the numbers to pass the bill in the Lower House.

Topics: government-and-politics, federal-government, child-care, australia

First posted March 23, 2017 22:13:21