Childcare fees in Australia (2026)

Average childcare fees by state

Long day care is dearest in the Australian Capital Territory at $16.50 an hour and cheapest in the Northern Territory at $13.20. The table converts each state's average hourly fee into a 10-hour day and shows what a family pays for that day after the 2026-27 subsidy at three family incomes.

Children in long day care attended 34.4 hours a week on average, from 27.6 hours in Tasmania to 39.1 in the Northern Territory. Your centre's fee can sit well above or below these averages: compare the services in your suburb in our childcare directory.

Fees by type of care

Family day care averaged $13.95 an hour, $0.65 less than long day care. Outside school hours care is the cheapest per hour at $10.05, and its sessions are short, so the cost per session is low.

Session lengths are illustrative; check your service's session times, because the subsidy is worked out per hour of the session you are charged for. In home care is capped at $41.31 an hour per family rather than per child.

What families pay after the Child Care Subsidy

The subsidy covers a percentage of the fee, up to the hourly rate cap, and the percentage falls as family income rises. The table shows what a 10-hour day of long day care at the national average fee ($146.00) costs at different family incomes, for 3 days a week over 50 weeks.

3 days is close to the national average of 34.4 hours a week. Use the Child Care Subsidy calculator for your own fee, days and income.

How the Child Care Subsidy works in 2026-27

The Child Care Subsidy is paid by Services Australia straight to your approved childcare service, which takes it off your bill. For each hour of care, the subsidy is your CCS percentage multiplied by the lower of your hourly fee and the hourly rate cap. A service that charges a daily fee is converted to an hourly fee by dividing the daily fee by the hours in the session. These rates apply from 6 July 2026.

Standard rate by family income

Hourly rate caps

Subsidised hours: the 3 Day Guarantee

The activity test was replaced on 5 January 2026. Every eligible child now gets at least 72 subsidised hours a fortnight, or 36 hours a week, enough for three 12-hour days, whatever the parents' work or study. A child gets 100 hours a fortnight if both parents do more than 48 hours of recognised activity a fortnight, if the family has a valid exemption, or if the child is Aboriginal or Torres Strait Islander. Hours above your entitlement are charged at the full fee.

Who can get it

• You or your partner care for the child at least 2 nights a fortnight (or have 14% care) and are liable for the fees.
• The service is approved for the Child Care Subsidy, and you meet the residence rules.
• The child meets the immunisation requirements and is not at secondary school, unless an exemption applies.
• Grandparent carers, families leaving income support and families in temporary financial hardship may also get the Additional Child Care Subsidy on top.

The 5% withholding

Services Australia holds back 5% of your subsidy each fortnight to reduce the chance of an overpayment, and pays it back after it balances your account against your actual income. An accurate family income estimate is the best way to avoid a debt at the end of the financial year.

Two children under 6: the higher subsidy

Families with more than one child aged 5 or under in care, and income below $370,727, get a higher rate for the younger children. The eldest child stays on the standard rate.

When a centre charges more than the cap

The subsidy stops at the cap, so every dollar of the hourly fee above $15.19 is paid in full, whatever your income. In the June quarter 2026, 56.7% of long day care services charged at or below the cap that applied then ($14.63).

How much have childcare costs risen?

The ABS tracks childcare in the Consumer Price Index as the price families pay after subsidies, so the index moves with fees and with every change to the subsidy. Out-of-pocket childcare prices rose 35.2% in the 20 years to September 2026, against 72.2% for prices overall. The July 2023 subsidy increase cut them by 13.2% in a single quarter, but since then they have risen 21.7%, against 10.3% for all prices. In the year to September 2026 they rose 5.0%, against 3.9% overall.

Source: ABS Consumer Price Index, series Child care and All groups CPI, pulled 30 October 2026. The 2011 dip reflects the higher Child Care Rebate introduced in 2008; the 2023 drop reflects the Cheaper Child Care reforms. Track wider cost-of-living figures at GDP.com.au.

What the ACCC inquiry found

The ACCC's childcare inquiry reported in January 2024 after a year of analysing provider costs and prices. Its findings on fees:

• Affordability improved straight after the July 2023 subsidy increase, which cut out-of-pocket costs for every type of care and every income group.
• Earlier affordability gains from subsidy changes were quickly eroded by fee increases.
• Providers' profit margins are higher in major cities and more advantaged areas, where there are more services and families can pay more.
• Labour shortages limit supply most in regional and remote areas and for children up to two years old.

Source: ACCC, Childcare inquiry final report, 29 January 2024.

Free and discounted preschool by state

Every state funds some preschool or kindergarten in the year or two before school, on top of or instead of the Child Care Subsidy. Programs change often, so confirm the details for your service.

Ways to lower your childcare costs

• Compare the hourly fee, not the daily fee. Divide the daily fee by the session hours. A $140 day over 12 hours ($11.67 an hour) is cheaper per hour than $130 over 10 hours ($13.00), and only the hourly fee up to $15.19 is subsidised.
• Check the cap. If a centre charges above $15.19 an hour, the difference is yours to pay in full.
• Tell Services Australia if you qualify for 100 hours. Families who do not tell them stay on 72 hours a fortnight.
• Keep your income estimate accurate. Underestimating creates a debt after tax time; overestimating means less subsidy during the year.
• Use state preschool funding in the year or two before school (see the table above).
• Look at family day care. It averaged $13.95 an hour against $14.60 for long day care.
• Compare services nearby. Fees vary widely within a suburb. Our childcare directory lists every approved service with its quality rating and contact details.

Frequently asked questions