Our fees, and what you'll actually pay

Sign in to myGov and open Centrelink. Go to My Family → Child Care → Child Care Subsidy Summary, and your current percentage is listed there for each child. The Express Plus Centrelink app shows the same summary.

If you have more than one child aged 5 or under in care, check each child separately — the younger ones usually have a higher percentage, and entering them individually above is what makes the estimate accurate.

Not enrolled with Centrelink yet? You claim Child Care Subsidy through myGov, and the percentage appears once your claim is assessed. Claims commonly take six to eight weeks to be assessed, so start yours well before your child’s first day.

Child Care Subsidy is paid per hour of the session you are charged for, up to a capped hourly rate set by the Australian Government — $15.19 from 6 July 2026 for centre-based care below school age.

Your percentage is worked out on whichever is lower: our hourly rate, or that cap. If our hourly rate sits below the cap, your percentage applies to all of it. If it sits above, the part above the cap attracts no subsidy at any percentage, and you pay that part in full.

Subsidy is calculated over a fortnight and your entitlement is used up day by day, so if your booking runs past your fortnightly hours, the later days attract less subsidy or none.

The percentage Centrelink quotes you is not the percentage taken off your fees. Centrelink withholds 5% of your subsidy by default, so if your letter says 95%, what actually comes off your account is about 90%. The difference has not been lost — Centrelink is holding it back and returns it after you lodge your tax return.

The calculator assumes that standard 5% withholding, which is what nearly every family is on. You can vary your withholding percentage through Centrelink, and doing so changes what you pay each week.

If you use the estimator, we apply the published Child Care Subsidy rates for the 2026–27 year. The standard rate is 90% for a combined family income up to $88,520, falling by 1% for every $5,000 above that, and reaching zero at $538,520. Your entitlement also depends on your activity level: since 5 January 2026 every eligible family receives at least 72 subsidised hours a fortnight, rising to 100 hours where the parent doing fewer hours meets 48 hours of recognised activity a fortnight.

It is an estimate from the published rates. It does not know your circumstances, and Centrelink assesses your actual entitlement — if their figure differs from ours, theirs is the one that counts.

If you have more than one child aged 5 or under in care, the eldest of them receives the standard rate and the younger ones receive a higher rate, worked out under a separate income test. It runs like this:

• 95% for a combined family income up to $146,437.
• Above that it falls by 1% for every $3,000 of income, reaching 80% at $191,437.
• It holds at 80% until $270,727.
• Then it falls again by 1% for every $3,000, reaching 50% at $360,727.
• It holds at 50% until $370,727.
• At $370,727 the higher rate stops applying altogether, and every child in the family receives the standard rate.

Your Centrelink online account shows a percentage for each child. Those figures override anything estimated here.

Free Kindy funding applies for 40 weeks of the year. During the remaining 12 weeks, Senior Kindy families pay at their Child Care Subsidy rate, the same as every other program. Statements are issued weekly, so your amount will differ between term and holidays.

This estimate is general information only, based on the details you entered. It is not financial advice and should not be relied upon. Changes to law, policy or your circumstances may mean the subsidy you actually receive differs from the estimate. We do not guarantee the information is accurate, current or complete, and accept no responsibility for any loss arising from reliance on it. Confirm your entitlement with Services Australia.