Childcare Cost Calculator

This calculator works out what childcare actually costs your family each week and year, once you account for the free early childhood education (ECE) hours and any Childcare Subsidy you are entitled to. You enter the hours of care you use each week, the hourly fee your provider charges, how many of those hours are covered by free ECE, any per-hour subsidy amount you qualify for, and the number of weeks a year you use care. The calculator multiplies your hours by the fee to get your gross weekly cost, then subtracts the value of your free hours and subsidy to show your out-of-pocket cost per week, alongside a breakdown of the gross fees, the combined value of free hours and subsidy support, and your net cost projected over a full year. This makes it easy to compare providers on a true, after-support basis, work out whether returning to work stacks up against the childcare bill, and check you are claiming everything you are entitled to, since many families under-use the support available. Free ECE hours and the Childcare Subsidy both have their own eligibility rules based on your child's age and your family income, so confirm your entitlement and current rates before relying on the figures. This is an estimate to help with budgeting and planning, not a guarantee of the support you will receive.

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Free ECE hours apply to children of a certain age, and the Childcare Subsidy is income tested with its own rules, so check your eligibility and the current rates. Enter a per-hour subsidy if you qualify. Estimate only, to support planning.