What's your Child Care Subsidy?
How much of your child care fees the government covers — and what you'd actually pay out of pocket — worked out from your family income, hourly fee and hours of care.
A second child aged 5 or under in care?
Younger children of a family get a higher subsidy rate (+30 points).
On a $14/hr Centre-based fee, your subsidy is
90%
You'd pay about $101 out of pocket per fortnight — $50/week, $2,621/year.
90%
$907
$101
The subsidy covers 90% of your fee (up to the $15/hr Centre-based cap) across 72 subsidised hours a fortnight.
The rate falls as family income rises — open the advanced panel to see the full taper, the hourly-fee cap and the higher rate for a second young child. A guide, not financial advice.
Child care is one of the biggest recurring bills a young family carries, and the fee on the centre's price list is rarely what you hand over. The Child Care Subsidy is paid to your provider rather than to you, so what shows up on your statement is the gap — and its size turns on your family income, the hourly fee, the care type and your hours.
This page turns those inputs into the dollars actually leaving your account each fortnight, week and year, and shows where you sit on the income taper — worth knowing before taking on extra work, since more income lifts your pay and cuts your rate at once.
How this is calculated
- 1
Set your subsidy percentage from family income
The rate starts at 90% for a combined family income at or below $85,279, then falls one percentage point for every $5,000 above that, reaching 0% at $535,279.
- 2
Apply the higher rate if a second child is 5 or under
The second-child toggle adds 30 percentage points to your standard rate for that younger child, capped at 95%. It applies only while combined income is at or below $367,563 — above that, every child gets the standard rate.
- 3
Cap the fee the subsidy is calculated on
The subsidy is worked out on the lower of your fee or the hourly cap for your care type: $14.63 centre-based day care, $13.56 family day care, $12.81 outside school hours care. Anything above the cap is never subsidised.
- 4
Multiply out across your hours of care
Subsidy per hour is your rate times the capped fee, multiplied by your hours a fortnight — entered directly, or as days times hours per day. Out of pocket is the full fee less the subsidy; a year is 26 fortnights.
- 5
Re-run it across every income
The taper chart re-runs this same calculation across a sweep of family incomes, holding your fee, hours and care type fixed, so you can see your rate and annual gap at any income.
What it assumes
- Hours default to 72 a fortnight — the minimum guaranteed from January 2026 — but the tool uses whatever you enter; it does not run an activity test for you.
- The taper is applied as a smooth line rather than in fixed income steps, so your rate can land between whole percentage points.
- It assumes the same fee, hours and care type for all 26 fortnights. Closures, holidays and absences pull the annual figure down.
- One child at a time: the second-child toggle shows the higher rate, but does not add a second set of fees.
- Amounts withheld through the year, the balancing once your income is confirmed, and provider charges such as late fees or excursions are excluded.
- Eligibility is not tested: residency, immunisation, an approved provider and Additional Child Care Subsidy all sit outside this. In-home care is not offered.
Common questions
Whose income do I put in?
Your combined family income before tax, estimated across the full financial year rather than what you earn this fortnight. If the field pre-filled from a salary saved elsewhere on the site, that is one income only — add your partner's.
Why did my subsidy drop after a pay rise?
The percentage is set by combined family income, and above $85,279 every extra $5,000 removes a point — so a raise lifts your pay and your gap fee together. It tapers gradually rather than dropping off a cliff, with one exception: crossing $367,563 removes the higher rate for a second young child.
What happens if my centre charges more than the hourly cap?
The subsidy is calculated on the cap, not on your fee, so every dollar per hour above it is yours in full however high your percentage. That is why two families on the same rate can face very different gaps — an over-cap fee repeats across every hour of care.
Do all my children get the same rate?
Not necessarily. With more than one child aged 5 or under in care, the younger ones can get the standard rate plus 30 percentage points, capped at 95%, while combined income stays at or below $367,563. Your eldest in care, and school-age children, stay on the standard rate.
Sources: Services Australia — Child Care Subsidy · All data sources
See also: Family payments · Take-home pay · Couple take-home · Budget your salary
General information only, not financial advice. Figures are estimates based on the inputs and assumptions above and don't account for your personal circumstances. Confirm anything important with the relevant authority or a licensed adviser.