Sushimania

Any childcare benefits on 457 visa? Recently found a very nice childcare centre for my young daughter, but it's $105 per day. I think it is very expensive. Is that a "typical" fee?

RenShen

You don't get anything on a 457. Its like we don't exist.

ROMFT_WO2RN

who said that

RenShen

Me

elice_in_oz

No benefits whatsoever for kids on 457. You do pay taxes though

Buzzy--Bee

You can get LAFHA which is untaxed income.

BB

Dorothy

Same thing for temporary residents on working visas to UK, though.

Amazulu

You don't get anything and rightly so.

$105 seems very high, most are about half that.

ABCDiamond

You do get subsidised education costs, except in NSW and ACT.

Geordie George

Not sure where you're based, but it doesn't sound outrageous to me. My DD's daycare costs $85 a day - she's two and a half years old (the costs are more for younger children, less for older) and she goes to daycare in Sydney's inner west. That seems to be a standard rate in our neck of the woods.

Sushimania

We're in Sydney Lower North Shore. I didn't think it would be so expensive for a childcare especially when we would still have to pay regardless of whether my daughter is there or not (ie. Summer holiday)

RenShen

Just to explode the LAFHA myth. Not everybody gets it and its certainly not an automatic right. It depends if the employer will do it or not. Ours won't.

elice_in_oz

$105 sounds high, but not overly. Here in inner suburbs of Melbourne (9km from CBD) I used to pay $92/day (and it kept going up every year by about $2 or $3). They charged us for all holidays, public or our own, sick days and they didn't do half days. The waiting list was about 18 months.

Where we are now, in a middle suburb (18km from CBD), I only pay $62/day. It's still a private centre, they offer half days and will let me have extra days if they have the availability.

It really depends on where you live and it sounds like Sydney is worse than Melbourne... Sorry

LINZI

We also did not get LAFHA did not even know about it when we came out in 2006 and the company knew nothing about it at the time neither

In regards to day care we are about 1 hour and half drive from sydney and if i was to put my child in day care it would be about $60 a day.
Im not sure on your daughters age but i am putting my son (3yr) in preschool and its costing me $25 a day for 9am till 3pm. (its not on school holidays)

ABCDiamond

That bit about, where you live, is very relevant.

One of the centres in my area shows their July 2010 fees as:

• 8 Hours $ 39.25
• 40 Hours $184.00

any any Child Care Benefit will reduce those rates.