# Child care costs.



## rayh (Apr 1, 2011)

Hi friends,

We have 2 kids (4+ n 1yr old).Me n my hubby both want to take up job when we reach Aus.While i was checking the child care centres and their costs i was surprised to see that for 1day we need 2 pay atleast 70$s per child.

After calculation, i realised that the cost is going over $3k . Could someone suggest what other parents does since the amount is huge and i am afraid if i take up a job, i will have 2 pay taxes and at child care centre, i will be left with no money in my hand.

Any suggestions.

Ray.


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## beckdownunder (Feb 12, 2011)

Wow thats expensive!! Which area were you looking? Hope its not that expensive in Adelaide otherwise we will be in trouble.


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## beckdownunder (Feb 12, 2011)

Cost of child care - CareforKids.com.au ®

Here is a link with details of some costs. Seems it is quite expensive.


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## rayh (Apr 1, 2011)

beckdownunder said:


> Cost of child care - CareforKids.com.au ®
> 
> Here is a link with details of some costs. Seems it is quite expensive.


Ye beckdownunder its quite expensive.We will probably move to sydney so these are the general cost in Sydney.

I gathered that centrelink provides 20-50% of the child care cost but i donno what is the eligibility criteria.

If i could hear from anybody in this forum regarding this, it would be helpful.

Thanks 

Ray


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## Kristie (Apr 14, 2011)

Hi Ray
You would need to be a permanent resident of Australia to be eligible to receive the CCB (childcare benefit) rebate. Until then you would have to pay full fees. There are registered family daycarers who operate through local councils. These can be cheaper than a daycare centre. You could contact the local shire offices to ask about this.


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## Dolly (Feb 17, 2008)

Child Care Benefit

Dolly


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## anj1976 (Apr 24, 2008)

I have tried looking at various states for childcare cost, most places the waiting area was more for inner city, suburbs waiting period was shorter and cost a little less than that in inner city. The cost of chilcare centers around AU seems to be more or less the same


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## anj1976 (Apr 24, 2008)

but wont your 4-5 year old child go to regular school saving you the daycare cost for one child


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## oaks17 (Apr 18, 2011)

We just moved here from the USA. We are in Mackay, QLD. We found childcare for our 3 year old last week. It is $300 per week and we have to provide all the food, diapers. They provide sunscreen and wipes. It was $250 in the US.


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## oaks17 (Apr 18, 2011)

I was actually expecting it to be much more. Typically my experience is that everything here is basically twice as much as it is in the US.


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## oaks17 (Apr 18, 2011)

anj1976 said:


> but wont your 4-5 year old child go to regular school saving you the daycare cost for one child


I know that my boy that was born 3-5-08 will start Kindy next January, but you still have to pay for care when they are not at Kindy if they go to public Kindy. I want to say at the school that my older boy goes to the yonger one will go 2 days one week and 3 days the next day.


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## MaddyS (Jun 24, 2010)

have moved to melbourne last oct. have a son who is attending the long day care full time. the rates for full time long day care are generally more expensive in the cbd than in the suburbs...i have to shell out nearly 90$ a day. since me and my wife earn more than the threshold set for child care benefit, we dont get any concession on the child care fees...however, we do get a "rebate"..yeah, the CCB and the rebate are two different things (atleast that's what i understand and i may be corrected)...the rebate can be paid monthly, quarterly etc ...and a maximum of 7000$ a year..so in effect, u end up paying nearly 20-24k in day care fees and u get back 7000$ as rebate...i would have to continue this for the next 2 yrs or so, after which my son will start regular school which is free (if he goes to a public school)...i only need to worry about after school care (which is not as expensive)...

you may save a lot if u send your child to family day care... i think it is around 30$ a day or so...and these are difficult to find...

good luck with your search...

regds
Maddy


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## rayh (Apr 1, 2011)

anj1976 said:


> but wont your 4-5 year old child go to regular school saving you the daycare cost for one child


Ye Anj, he will start schooling from Jan next year but have to check about day care after he finishes his school hours.


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## rayh (Apr 1, 2011)

MaddyS said:


> have moved to melbourne last oct. have a son who is attending the long day care full time. the rates for full time long day care are generally more expensive in the cbd than in the suburbs...i have to shell out nearly 90$ a day. since me and my wife earn more than the threshold set for child care benefit, we dont get any concession on the child care fees...however, we do get a "rebate"..yeah, the CCB and the rebate are two different things (atleast that's what i understand and i may be corrected)...the rebate can be paid monthly, quarterly etc ...and a maximum of 7000$ a year..so in effect, u end up paying nearly 20-24k in day care fees and u get back 7000$ as rebate...i would have to continue this for the next 2 yrs or so, after which my son will start regular school which is free (if he goes to a public school)...i only need to worry about after school care (which is not as expensive)...
> 
> you may save a lot if u send your child to family day care... i think it is around 30$ a day or so...and these are difficult to find...
> 
> ...


Thanks for the info Maddy.Really appreciate it.

Few Questions since you have already been through this...This income threshold which is mentioned is combined income of both husband and wife or individual.I think its combined income but want to make sure.Also, we just got PR.so are we eligible for CCB if our combined income is below the threshold or do we have to wait for 2yrs to avail this like any other benefit.

Thanks 

Ray.


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## MaddyS (Jun 24, 2010)

@Ray, I am not sure what those other benefit's are. I'd really like to know those. 

The threshold i'd mentioned is combined household income. Since you are a PR, you would be eligible for CCB provided you meet certain criteria. The details can be found here and here

to the best of my knowledge, the waiting time applies in the case of private insurance and that too for everyone (not just new PR)..


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## voddy (Nov 2, 2010)

Dolly said:


> Child Care Benefit
> 
> Dolly


Hi Dolly...

I am waiting for my PR I have submitted it online last month..Im worried about the child care cost. 
Can we take our baby's nanny with us for a few months? 
If so how can we take her? tourist visa? what would be the procedure?
I am from sri lanka

(btw...ur blog post are so informative that I save them for later reference)


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## voddy (Nov 2, 2010)

voddy said:


> Hi Dolly...
> 
> I am waiting for my PR I have submitted it online last month..Im worried about the child care cost.
> Can we take our baby's nanny with us for a few months?
> ...


any one???? please/..:confused2:


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## beckdownunder (Feb 12, 2011)

Hi Voddy,

Re - bringing Nanny over with you - I'm afraid it won't be possible. She cant come over on a tourist visa with the intention of working, as that would be a breach of the visa conditions. Don't think any of the other visa's would be suitable for her either, unless she is under 30, then maybe she can try and get a working holiday visa - although I don't know the specific requirements for this visa.

Good luck with whatever you decide.

Beck


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## voddy (Nov 2, 2010)

I found a nice way to start with...If you can get a schol in one of the Ausy unis..then they pay for you expenses including child care...

But ppl like me who wants to continue our precious (passionate) careers..we'll have to climb the ladder until we r comfortable with all these living costs


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## gkkumar (Feb 24, 2014)

*Kid and House Wife*

I have a kid who is two years 2 months old and my wife does not work - housewife. I am planning to move to Aus on a PR visa in a couple of months. Would like to know what are the expenses I would have with my kid. What is the financial assistance I would get from Aus government for my kid and wife. Appreciate your reply.


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## anj1976 (Apr 24, 2008)

Nothing for your wife but for your child you do get about 200-300 per month which is income tested. depends how much you earn. check centrelink website please


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## ozhopes (Nov 22, 2012)

You would get some rental assistance alongwith some payments for child assistance but its income tested as suggested with the upper limit being 47k AUD. You can call the Centerlink folks while you're here to check your eligibility. Rules are changing on and off, so you may want to check with them



gkkumar said:


> I have a kid who is two years 2 months old and my wife does not work - housewife. I am planning to move to Aus on a PR visa in a couple of months. Would like to know what are the expenses I would have with my kid. What is the financial assistance I would get from Aus government for my kid and wife. Appreciate your reply.


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## SB81 (Dec 6, 2012)

Dear All,

We are planning to move to Melbourne soon and have to look for a day care ( long day care) for our 5 months near to CBD.
I was going through few blogs where it was mentioned that day care has long waiting time.Is that really a case.Are there no options.Also I assume it costs 100 AUD per day on an average.One may get CCB or not ( depends on their Income level ).Please share your experiences.Thanks..


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## anj1976 (Apr 24, 2008)

Yes, the closer you go to the city, the longer is the waiting n more expensive. Near the city cc would be more like 130-140 bux and not 100 bux


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## SB81 (Dec 6, 2012)

Thanks anj1976..
But still can we expect a vaccancy in child care atleast in 3 months..else its going to b really difficult.


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## pyramid (Apr 3, 2014)

SB81 said:


> Thanks anj1976..
> But still can we expect a vaccancy in child care atleast in 3 months..else its going to b really difficult.


I don't think there is any guarantee. You'll need to check with child care that you are interested in. There might be some private child care (of course govt approved) which have vacancy but again you need to search for them and enquire.


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## anj1976 (Apr 24, 2008)

I am not sure. You can look up childcares around the city and call them to check. 3 months isnt a long time, one year is more like it but again, you never know


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## SB81 (Dec 6, 2012)

Thanks anj1976..I tried searching mychild.gov.au for melbourne..n cld find vaccancies in CBD area..Indeed its expensive..But we dont have much choice...


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