Have you looked at a centre’s daily fee and quietly ruled it out? Sixty dollars a day. A hundred and seventy. The number on the page, multiplied by three days, multiplied by fifty weeks.
At Little Jungle Early Learning in Dundas, we have that conversation on almost every tour. A family arrives having already decided what they can afford, working from a number that was never the number they would pay.
The advertised fee is not what you pay. It is the starting point the government works down from.
Why this matters more than most families realise
The Child Care Subsidy is paid by Services Australia directly to the centre. You are only ever asked for the difference, which is called the gap fee.
So when you compare two centres on their advertised fees, you are comparing two numbers that neither family will actually pay. What matters is the gap, and what the gap includes.
The most common thing we hear is “we earn too much for that.” Families across a wide range of incomes receive some subsidy. The percentage reduces as income rises. It does not vanish at the first hurdle.
What changed in January 2026
Before this year, the hours you were subsidised for depended on how much work or study you did. Families doing less got fewer hours.
The 3-Day Guarantee replaced that floor. Most families now receive at least 72 subsidised hours a fortnight regardless of activity level. For a family using three days a week, that covers most or all of it.
NSW adds Start Strong on top for three, four and five year olds in long day care. You do not apply for it directly. There is a short form we will give you, and once it is back with us we claim it and pass the reduction on.
The Little Jungle difference
Here is where two centres with identical advertised fees stop being comparable.
What one centre includes in the daily fee, another may charge separately. Each item is small. Together they change the number.
Our daily fee covers:
Meals. Cooked on site each day to the Australian Dietary Guidelines. Breakfast, morning tea, hot lunch, afternoon tea.
Nappies and wipes. Including Sudocrem, bibs and nappy bags. You do not need to pack any.
Sunscreen. SPF 50+, applied before outdoor play and every two hours after.
Excursions and incursions. Generally not billed as an extra.
The fee we quote you is the fee you pay.
We would rather explain your real number in person than have you rule us out based on a number that was never yours.
Bring your questions and we will work through it with you. Book a tour or call us on 1300 192 598.
Full detail is on our fees and CCS page.
