Frequently Asked Questions
What types of child care can I use?
When choosing an option for child care you can select from a range of centres, including:
- long day care
- family day care
- in home care
- outside school hours care
- occasional.
You may also wish to use another carer, such as a nanny, friend or relative.
For more information, please visit the Child Care Options page on this site.
How do I find child care centres in my local area?
The mychild website contains a detailed search which will enable you to locate details of all approved child care centres across Australia.
You can search by care type and postcode or suburb, or alphabetically via our
A-Z search page.
How do I find the fees for different types of care?
Some child care centres advise us of their standard fees and these are recorded on our site. To find the fees for centres in your local area, please use the search options on this site.
You can search by care type and postcode or suburb, or alphabetically via our A-Z search page.
How do I locate vacancies for child care services?
Approved child care centres provide up-to-date vacancy information on a weekly basis. Details of vacancies at child care centres can be found by using the use the search options on this site.
You can search by care type and postcode or suburb, or alphabetically via our A-Z search page.
What is the difference between approved and registered child care?
Approved child care is child care that has been approved by the Australian Government for Child Care Benefit purposes because it meets certain standards and requirements.
Registered child care is child care provided by grandparents or other relatives, friends or nannies who are registered with the Family Assistance Office as registered child care providers.
Further details on these types of care can be found at the Approved Care and Registered Care pages of this site.
Child Care Fee Assistance
What payments can I get to help reduce the cost of child care?
The Australian Government provides assistance to eligible families to reduce the out-of-pocket costs of child care. There are different types of financial assistance to help with the cost of placing children in child care.
The main payments families may be eligible for are:
How can I estimate my child care costs and payments?
The Child Care Estimator is a tool that gives families and carers an estimate of how much financial assistance they could receive from the Australian Government for the cost of child care. It provides an estimated dollar value of Child Care Benefit and Child Care Rebate entitlements, as well as out-of-pocket child care costs.
To estimate your costs please, visit the Child Care Estimator on the Family Assistance Office website.