The federal government is cracking down on dodgy family childcare operators to stop "child swapping".
The new restrictions, announced on Tuesday and due to start mid-October, will target a loophole where parents who run a family day care receive childcare payments for having their own child in a different day care service at the same time.
Social Services Minister Scott Morrison said half of all family day care services were at high risk of breaking the rules.
"The government will not tolerate those taking advantage of the system and there will be consequences for those who break the rules," he said.
New measures would address the problem while safeguarding legitimate operators and the families who depend on them, he said,
The proposal to prohibit child swapping will exempt legitimate circumstances such as children with disabilities or who live in remote parts of Australia.
Family day care operators will also still be able to claim childcare rebates if their children are in long day care or other service types.
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