The federal government is claiming a multi-million dollar victory over "shonky" childcare providers pocketing incentives for caring for their own kids while being paid to look after others.
Plugging a loophole in October that allowed "child-swapping" scammers to rort the system was now saving $7.7 million a week, Education Minister Scott Birmingham said on Sunday.
"Perpetrators of fraud are on notice: you will be caught and there are severe consequences, including the possibility of jail time," Mr Birmingham said.
"These family day care services were designed to support parents who wanted to care for their own children, in their own home while earning a small income.
"It was not envisaged that this opportunity would ultimately rip almost $8 million a week off of Australian parents and taxpayers."
Mr Birmingham's self-proclaimed scalp comes a day after he was accused of sitting on his hands while the price of day care skyrocketed.
Analysis released by the National Centre of Social and Economic Modelling on Saturday suggested fees at high-demand centres would reach $210 a day before the government's means-tested subsidies take effect in July 2017.
Opposition education spokeswoman Kate Ellis said the government was more interested in shuffling ministerial chairs than tackling the problem.
"Australian families deserve better than Malcolm Turnbull constantly changing child care ministers, constantly talking about what the government might do, but sitting back and remaining inactive as fees soar," Ms Ellis told reporters on Saturday.
"They've talked and talked, but all they have delivered is a constantly changing child care minister, more reports, more reviews and more cuts to existing child care support."
Mr Birmingham insisted he was in the midst of pursuing the country's most comprehensive child care reform, hammering his argument home again on Sunday.
"This tough stance is necessary to ensure our taxpayer dollars are directed to those operators doing the right thing and delivering high quality, flexible and affordable child care to families and not those shonky providers offering sub-standard services," he said.
