We are hopefully moving to Canberra in September this year and were wondering if anybody could possibly give us a rough estimate as to the cost of full time childcare in Canberra?
Have looked at a few websites and have come up with a rough figure of around 2k a month - is this about right?
I would think that $2K a month would be a bit on the high side - I would have thought $300 - $400 a week would do it (per child). Places are quite limited though and can be hard to find. If you are lucky some employers have creches. All depending on the age of the child, it is sometimes possible to get a full time educational setting - some of the independent schools have a full time preschool program, however they are school hours programs and you will probably be wanting an 8am - 6pm program. There is also a family day care program which would turn out a bit cheaper - sort of like all day baby sitting at someone's house. Day care can be good if you get a good person but you dont get the specialist early childhood education that most centres offer for preschool age kids.
If you are going to be a permanent resident there is a means tested child care benefit scheme - I think everyone gets at least the base rate though.
Thanks Quoll, should've said that the $2k figure was for 2 kids:)
So looks like our estimates may have been a wee bit low...
Our kids will be 1 and 3 by the time we get there, so we're just trying to work out a rough budget to see if we can actually earn enough to live off over there.
We hope to be pulling in around $100-120k a year between us, but between the fairly hefty mortgage we'll need and childcare, we're starting to think things could get tight...
You're probably about right for two kids because they do tend to give discounts for subsequent kids. You should be OK on your expected salary although it does depend on how hefty the mortgage!
It's a very long time ago now but we actually paid less when our kids went to private school than we did when they were at child care! Looks like that could still be true!
Would you like me to call a couple of places and get exact figures? The websites, especially those of the big franchises do seem rather coy about their fees!
That would be fantastic - thank you! As you said, they do seem to be a little reluctant to share their fees on the web! We have been researching everything to do with Canberra for the last 2 months and have only found two websites that have the fees listed.
Thank you for your help - it is greatly appreciated!
OK I randomly called 3, one national franchise type place and two independent but private centres. They are all in the region of $320 - 325 pw per child - no discount for two kids. As I said, there is a child care benefit for permanent residents but that is means tested so I wasnt able to ask about that. The one I found on the net indicated $279 pw but who knows how current that price is. I did go for centres which were pretty central to the CBD because the chances are that you will be working somewhere central but you may find that the further out you go, the cheaper the prices will be ( as will the housing!!!)
The three centres I called all said they were pretty well full up and advised putting your name on a waiting list asap. Where you decide to put them will, I suppose, largely depend on where you will be working. I know that some people swear by the national franchise mob whereas others wont touch them with a barge pole. I think it would be hard to make a decision without at least having a look at what the atmosphere is like so perhaps you need to think about putting their names down on a few waitlists!
Hope that helps a bit. Probably not what you were wanting to hear though!
Thank you so much for doing that - it helps us out alot! It's always better to find out maximum's and base it on that rather than go on minimums and be disappointed!
You mention that the further out you go, the cheaper it may be. Where would you recommend in terms of where do you get the most property wise for your money? In terms of commuting, we don't mind as long as the roads are good. Currently we live less that 4 miles from where we work but it takes over 45 minutes to get to work! The joys of rush hour!
I'm so sorry to flood you with so many questions, but by any chance, do you know a good mortgage broker who we could possibly email to find out what we could borrow? It's so hard knowing where to start and what to look out for when you are the other side of the world!
If I am asking too much, just say so as I know I have asked alot! Once again, thank you so much for all your help!
Long day care aka nurseries in UK are about $70 per day inc food and nappies.
Staff ratios are 1:5 for under 3s and 1:11 for over 3s (I am not very happy with these compared to the UK, especially for the babies)
You get 30% of the cost back in you tax and you may get a very small gov subsidy - CCB (we get about $4 a day!!)
