Australian childcare statistics for media and research

The figures

1. 1 Rated services that are Exceeding or Excellent 18.1%
2. 2 Exceeding or Excellent in the Australian Capital Territory, the highest state 44.2%
3. 3 Exceeding or Excellent in Canberra, the highest of 19 cities 41.4%
4. 4 Services rated Exceeding that kept it when re-rated in 2026 47.6%
5. 5 Rating changes between the March 2026 and October 2026 registers 1,473
6. 6 Ratings that are three or more years old 28.3%
7. 7 Daily gap fee in the Australian Capital Territory on $120,000 $37.40

Figures 1, 2, 3, 4 and 6 are recalculated from the register data each time this page loads; they change when the register is next refreshed. Figure 5 records one refresh. Figure 7 uses the published fee averages and subsidy rules.

1. 18.1% of rated services are Exceeding or Excellent

3,112 of the 17,165 rated childcare services in Australia (18.1%) are rated Exceeding the National Quality Standard or Excellent. Only 25 services hold the Excellent rating, and 7.1% are rated Working Towards.

Method

Count of services whose overall rating is Exceeding NQS or Excellent, divided by all services with an overall rating. The 1,023 services on the register that are not yet rated are left out of the share, as are the services we list from Queensland Government data, which have no NQS rating.

Source

ACECQA National Registers, export of 29 October 2026.

On kid.com.au

NQS ratings explained, with a rating check

2. The Australian Capital Territory has the highest share of top-rated services, Western Australia the lowest

44.2% of rated services in the Australian Capital Territory are Exceeding or Excellent, against 4.0% in Western Australia, a gap of about 11 times. South Australia has the highest share rated Working Towards, 16.3%.

Method

As figure 1, grouped by the state on each service's register entry. Australia includes services whose entry has no state.

Source

ACECQA National Registers, export of 29 October 2026.

On kid.com.au

Ratings by state, all five levels, and each state's directory from the table.

3. Canberra leads the cities, Townsville trails

Of 19 Australian cities, Canberra (41.4%), Wollongong (34.5%) and Sunshine Coast (30.4%) have the highest share of rated services that are Exceeding or Excellent. Townsville (3.5%), Perth (4.4%) and Toowoomba (6.5%) have the lowest.

Method

Cities are ABS Significant Urban Areas (ASGS Edition 3, 2021). Each postcode is assigned to the city holding most of its residential mesh blocks, and each service to the city of its postcode. Share as in figure 1. Canberra includes Queanbeyan, the Gold Coast includes Tweed Heads and Newcastle includes Maitland.

Source

ACECQA National Registers, export of 29 October 2026; ABS ASGS Edition 3.

On kid.com.au

Each city's page from the table, with its highest-rated suburbs.

4. 47.6% of Exceeding services kept the rating when re-rated in 2026

Of the 597 services previously rated Exceeding that received a new overall rating in 2026, 284 (47.6%) kept Exceeding or moved up to Excellent. 283 dropped to Meeting and 30 to Working Towards or below. Across all 3,067 re-rated services, 529 moved up a level or more and 514 moved down.

Method

Services whose current overall rating was issued in 2026 (January to the export month) and whose register entry also records a previous overall rating. Each current rating is compared with the previous one on the five-level scale. Services rated for the first time are left out.

Source

ACECQA National Registers, export of 29 October 2026: the overall rating, rating issue date and previous overall rating fields.

On kid.com.au

What each rating level means. Centre pages show the previous rating wherever the register records one.

5. 1,473 rating changes in seven months

Between the copy of the national register kid.com.au held from March 2026 and the export of 29 October 2026, 1,473 services already listed had a different overall rating, and 296 of them fell from Exceeding. 429 services joined the register and 447 left it.

Method

Each service in the 29 October 2026 export was matched to the earlier copy by its service approval number. A change is any difference in overall rating, including a first rating for a service that was not yet rated. New services are approval numbers in the export that were not in the earlier copy; removed services are the reverse. This is a record of one refresh and is not recalculated.

Source

ACECQA National Registers, the copy held from March 2026 and the export of 29 October 2026.

On kid.com.au

The childcare directory, by state, city and suburb.

6. 28.3% of ratings are three or more years old

4,855 of 17,165 current ratings (28.3%) were issued in October 2023 or earlier, three or more years before the register export. 1,394 (8.1%) date from October 2021 or earlier. The median rating is 23 months old.

Method

Whole months from the month each service's current overall rating was issued to the month of the register export (29 October 2026). Rated services with an issue date only.

Source

ACECQA National Registers, export of 29 October 2026: the rating issue date field.

On kid.com.au

How ratings are assessed. Every centre page shows the month its rating was issued.

7. A day of care after the subsidy costs most in the Australian Capital Territory

A family earning $120,000 pays about $37.40 for a 10-hour day of long day care in the Australian Capital Territory after the Child Care Subsidy, at the average fee, against $21.12 to $23.84 in the other states and territories ($23.36 at the national average fee). The ACT average fee of $16.50 an hour is above the $15.19 hourly cap, and the subsidy does not cover the part above the cap.

Method

Each state's average hourly fee for centre based day care multiplied by 10 hours. The subsidy is the 2026-27 standard rate for a family income of $120,000 (84%) applied to the lower of the fee and the $15.19 hourly cap for children below school age. The gap fee is the day's fee minus the subsidy, before the 5% withholding. A single child; the higher rate for second and younger children is not applied.

Source

Department of Education, Child Care Subsidy data report, June quarter 2026 (fees); Services Australia and the Department of Education (2026-27 rates and caps).

On kid.com.au

Childcare costs by state and the Child Care Subsidy calculator for any income, fee and number of days.