The federal government has launched talks with the Senate crossbench on cuts to family payment bonuses to be used to pay for a reintroduced child care package.
Social Services Minister Christian Porter has already kicked-off negotiations over the legislation to phase out family tax benefit Part A and B supplements.
The government wants to use the savings to fund a $3 billion child care package which was also returned to parliament on Thursday.
Both bills were stalled in the previous parliament and lapsed before the July 2 federal election, amid a stoush between the coalition and Labor about linking the two measures.
The supplement cuts would mean parents would lose between $354 and $726, based on Part A or Part B of the payment.
Labor had previously opposed any cuts to the benefits but in a pre-election change of heart agreed to halve the Part A supplement for wealthier families.
But it remains opposed to the government's supplement changes, meaning progress on the child care bill could be delayed again.
"We simply don't accept that the only way to pay for additional investment in early education is by hurting family budgets," Labor early childhood spokeswoman Kate Ellis told AAP in a statement.
"Investment in early education should not be held to ransom."
The government shows no signs it will budge.
"We have introduced our family tax benefit legislation and require it to be passed in order to pay for our very significant reforms to childcare," a spokesman for Mr Porter told AAP.
Under the child care package, mums or dads will have to pass an activity test to access a single new subsidy - they will need to show they're undertaking eight hours of work, study or volunteering per fortnight.
But the early childhood sector wants more leniency, concerned disadvantaged children whose parents fail to meet the activity test could have their hours of subsidy halved from 24 to 12 per week.
"The bill still needs vital changes," Early Childhood Australia chief Samantha Page said.
