The first thing most visitors to CareforKids.com.au want to know is where they can find child care and how much it will cost.
The table below provides an approximate guide of current costs for child care and should be used as an indication only as prices vary significantly.
Type of Child Care | Price Range
Minimum hourly rates are set out in the Miscellaneous Awards but on average, $30-$45 per hour for a live-in or high-end live-out nanny (+agency fee and super if applicable)
$17+ per hour per family (+agency fee)
$350-$450 pocket money for the au pair per week (+agency fee)
$25-$35 per hour (+agency fee)
Long day care (child care centre)
$70-$188 per day
$45-$80 per day
$7.50-$16.80 per hour dependent on location and service
$30-$35 per hour
$25-$35 per hour (+agency fee)
$15-$30 per morning session
$25-$45 per afternoon session
It's important to remember that childcare fees vary from provider to provider, and from state to state, and they are not regulated by the Government. Most approved child care providers charge a minimum daily rate or an hourly rate while some even charge fees for public holidays. Some service fees may be inclusive of food and nappies and while family daycare fees can be a cheaper option than other types of care, a family day care educator may require parents to provide everything the child needs.
Financial support
It's also useful to remember that these are the prices before the Child Care Subsidy has been taken into account. This subsidy, which was introduced in July 2018 to replace the Child Care Benefit and Child Care Rebate, reduces the cost of care to eligible families.
The subsidy amount you get will be determined by certain criteria, including your family income, the number of children in your care, the hours of activity you and your partner do, and the hourly rate cap based on the type of approved childcare you choose.
The CareforKids.com.au Child Care Subsidy Calculator can help you determine how much support you can expect to receive, and our article about the Child Care Subsidy is also a helpful source of information on how you can be eligible and the CCS rates provided.
CareforKids.com.au cost widget
Our unique cost widget is another way to check prices for centre-based care. Simply type in your postcode, and the cost widget averages out the prices of childcare or early childhood education providers in your area. For the exact cost of care in your area, you will need to contact the providers directly.
How much does child care cost?
While a breakdown of the costs of every type of care in each state and territory is beyond the scope of this article, we have sourced some information from the Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS) which will hopefully give you a little more information about what prices to expect as you look for care.
Every few years, the ABS conducts a nationwide Child Care Survey which presents information about the use of, and demand for, child care for children ranging from infancy to school age children (aged 0-12 years).
The last survey was completed in 2017 and the findings provide useful information on average child care costs across Australia.
It is worth pointing out that the costs reported here are the net costs parents pay after the Child Care Benefit and the Child Care Rebate were taken into account (the Child Care Subsidy had not yet come into effect).
The ABS survey showed that in 2017, 49.3 per cent of children aged up to 12 years usually attended some kind of care, whether formal or informal.
As with previous survey years, long day care was the most commonly used type of formal care and this was followed by before and/or after-school care programs. Grandparents were the most popular type of informal care.
For the majority of children who usually attended formal care, the mean cost after subsidies was $110.50 per week and the mean number of hours attended was 16.
The Department of Education, Skills and Employment also produces quarterly reports showing child care use and costs. The latest available Child Care in Australia report, from the March quarter 2020, shows the average hourly child care fee across all service types (except In-Home Care - a childcare service provided in a professional carer's home or the child's own home) was $10.00, before Australian Government fee assistance.
Fees varied across service types from a low of $7.45 per hour for Outside School Hours Care to a high of $10.55 per hour for family daycare.
Preschool may be free or a relatively affordable option, depending on which state or territory you live in. The ABS' Preschool Education Survey showed that 76 per cent of children enrolled in a preschool program in 2020 paid $4 or less per hour after subsidies were deducted.
Which factors increase childcare costs?
The best way to determine the cost of child care in your area is to contact a few services and chat with them directly. Think about whether you would prefer to have everything provided for your child or whether you would prefer to provide extras such as nappies and food when you send your child off each day. This decision alone will help you determine the best type of child care for your family and will directly affect the cost.
When comparing costs, it is also important to think about peripheral expenses, such as the price of travelling to and from the child care service provider in terms of petrol, public transport and/or convenience. These factors can have a considerable effect on the total price you end up paying for your child care.
