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Your Child Care Subsidy percentage will apply to the lowest of either the hourly:
- rate cap
- fee you’re charged by your child care service.
Hourly rate cap
There’s a different hourly rate cap depending on both:
- the type of approved child care you use
- your child’s age.
Children below school age
A child below school age is a child who is either:
- not attending school
- is younger than 6 years old.
If a child is not attending school and is aged 6 years or older, the child is considered above school age.
| Type of child care | Hourly rate cap |
|---|---|
| Centre Based Day Care - long day care and occasional care | $14.29 |
| Family Day Care | $13.24 |
| Outside School Hours Care - before, after and vacation care | $14.29 |
| In Home Care | $38.87 per family |
Children above school age
A school aged child is a child who is either:
- in school, including being home schooled
- aged 6 years or older.
Read about the different recognised primary school levels for child care fee assistance based on your state.
| Type of child care | Hourly rate cap |
|---|---|
| Centre Based Day Care - long day care and occasional care | $12.51 |
| Family Day Care | $13.24 |
| Outside School Hours Care - before, after and vacation care | $12.51 |
| In Home Care | $38.87 per family |
If you’re using In Home Care, the In Home Care Estimator on the Department of Education website can give you an idea of how much you might get.
Hourly fee
The hourly fee is the amount your child care service charges you for each hour of care. If your service charges a daily session rate, divide this by the number of hours in the session.
The number of hours in a session may not be the number of hours your child actually attends. Check with your child care service to find out the number of hours in a session.
Example of calculating the hourly fee for a daily session rate
Jan has a child named Riley. Riley attends a Centre Based Day Care. They charge $100 per day based on a 10 hour session.
Jan works out the hourly fee by dividing the daily session rate by the number of hours in the session. This means the hourly fee is $10.