movin'on

Good morning again

We are aiming to arrive in Oz (pref Bris) sometime next year. My eldest will be 4, and youngest 1. I have looked into preschool - kindergarten and it looks like govt funded preschool is only several hrs a day. I was looking to work full time so does anyone know the cost / availability for full time day care / nurseries? I know some of the private schools offer full time places for youngsters which I presume is a way in but I would prefer to put them in a good free school!!

Is the norm for babies to go to nursery or childminders?

I'm kind of rambling here but there are so many questions going round my head! basically I'm trying to think finances - how much will it cost for both kids to be in daycare full time / is it worth me looking for work or would I be better waiting until at least one of them is in school full time etc etc

Thanks as always

northernbird

here in WA the cost is roughly $50 per day. Depending on earnings you can get some help with that I believe.

leechy100

I am in WA too and agree with Northernbird, it is roughly $50 a day, you get a $2.52 per hour towards it from the government. Childminders are called family daycarers here. I have 3 kids and decided to stay at home until the youngest is in school.

Nicky

comet555

I'm just starting to look into this myself. In January my daughter will have just turned 4 and my youngest is 1 so we're pretty much in the same position.

I have heard through others that the cost is about $50 a day per child. So for me that's $100 a day while my kids are at daycare. Kids can't go to Prep until they are 5 or almost 5 so my oldest isn't eligible until Jan 2009. So not very helpful at the moment, and it'll mean 2 kids in daycare if I go back to work.

Apparently the government does give a little bit of help to anyone with kids in daycare. My husband makes too much so we would only get the basic amount. I'm guessing that my actual daycare costs would be closer to $80 a day for both kids, although it really is a guess. I do know that they have different rooms for different ages so they are grouped nicely.

I will try and make a few calls today and see what I find out. At the moment I'm not very inclined to go back to work because the daycare costs would be so much.

comet555

I just called a place in our area and here is what I found out.

$54 per day for the 1 year old ($46 when you have the minimum funding)
$50 per day for the 4 year old ($42 when you have the minimum funding)

Then you have to factor in any funding you may get from the government. We aren't eligable for anything but the basic rate, so that's the rate I've shown above.

I can't seem to find anywhere that will do half days, so I think full days only at the day care centres. I could choose to send the kids for only a day or two a week though if I want.

So at the moment my costs would be $88 for both of the kids. We don't really need any money from me working right now so I think I'll be waiting until the kids go to school.

DebiE

My daughter is 4 and goes to Kindy 3 days a week...9am - 3pm which is classed as a part day. We live on the Gold Coast, so can only comment on kindy fees here...most kindies are roughly the same.

As the cost of living is so high on the Gold Coast, it's the norm for families to have a double income, therefore placing babies/children into childcare.

Here are the fees at my daughter kindy -

0 - 2 years $50.50per day
2 - 3 years $48.50 per day
3 - 5 years $47.50 per day
Hours 6.45am to 6pm

Short day rates
$39.00 per day (3yrs+)
$41 per day (0-3yrs)
(Minimum 3 days) Hours 7.00 - 3.30pm

Children attending the centre five days per week receive a deducation of $1.00per day.

These fees are going up soon, as they do every year. If your child is sick or on holiday they still have to pay in full.

You only get child care allowance if you are a PR. We are not PR, therefore have to pay all childcare costs in full. Centrelink is the best place to go for information on eligibility and benefits -

http://www.centrelink.gov.au/interne...re_benefit.htm

Hope this helps

movin'on

Thank you all so much - that will certainly help with my budgeting, job search, cost of living calculations.

Pretty pricey.....but not that diff from UK I suppose.

I have it lucky here as childcare is roughly 1/4 of my income, in the UK (and probably OZ) it's nearer 1/3 so with 2 kids in childcare I'd be working for 1/3 or my salary - to get stressed and spend less time with the kids...

Hmmmm - I feel a conversation with OH coming on!!

Thanks again

hubbard

Sydney would cost you $80 per day for a childcare ( 1 kid), and in the CBD it's $110 - this is for children under 12 months.

movin'on

OMG $110 / DAY??????

My son is 1 now so would probably be ready for somekind of nursery / play group. Hmmmmmm sometimes I think it's better to do no calculations and just move - deal with the finances later! (Maybe that's why I'm crap with money.......)

hubbard

Yep - $110 a day at the place that has just opened up near my work in the CBD. Needless to say the place still has vacancies due to it's higher price tag but the short supply in childcare places in my area (St ives) means that come January I may have to use it unless I get lucky on the waiting list for a number of centres.