2026-27 estimate
Average childcare costs by state, 2026-27
The subsidy rules are national; the fees are anything but. The gap between the dearest and cheapest state averages is $40 a day, and because CCS pays a percentage of a capped amount rather than a flat rebate, that difference lands almost entirely in your out-of-pocket column. Here are the averages we use, where they come from, and what they do to one family's back-to-work maths.
For 2026-27, average centre-based fees range from about $118 a day in NT to about $158 in NSW. CCS rates and hourly caps are identical nationwide, so a dearer state simply means a larger out-of-pocket gap at the same subsidy rate, which shifts what an extra workday really pays.
Average daily fees, state by state
These are the same defaults the calculator offers when you don't know your centre's exact fee, straight from our rules profile with its Department of Education provenance. The out-of-pocket column shows a day at the state average on the 90% maximum subsidy rate, after the hourly cap does its work.
State averages and the gap they leave, 2026-27
| State | Average daily fee | Out of pocket at 90% CCS |
|---|---|---|
| NSW | $158 | $21 (fee exceeds the hourly cap) |
| ACT | $152 | $15 (fee exceeds the hourly cap) |
| VIC | $148 | $15 |
| QLD | $135 | $14 |
| WA | $132 | $13 |
| SA | $130 | $13 |
| TAS | $122 | $12 |
| NT | $118 | $12 |
National average when no state fits: $140 a day. Our fees source is marked "estimated" this refresh; the honest detail is in the Department of Education quarterly reports and on our methodology page.
Same family, two states: Mia and Tom try the border test
Mia earns $78,000 full-time equivalent, Tom earns $125,000, one child under five in centre-based care. Run them through the engine in Brisbane at Queensland's $135 average, then again in Sydney at New South Wales' $158: identical incomes, identical subsidy rate, and yet at three days a week the NSW version pays childcare about $7,169 more a month, and Mia's third day earns $22.91 an hour against $24.45 in Queensland. The taper didn't move; the fee did.
Here is the Sydney version, day by day:
Mia's family in NSW, day by day
| Days | Gross pay | CCS rate | Childcare you pay (after subsidy) | That day adds | $/hr |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 0 (baseline) | $0 | 82.7% | $0 | n/a | n/a |
| 1 | $15,600 | 79.58% | $1,930 | +$13,670 | $34.59 |
| 2 | $31,200 | 76.46% | $4,353 | +$11,608 | $29.37 |
| 3 | $46,800 | 73.34% | $7,268 | +$9,055 | $22.91 |
| 4 | $62,400 | 70.22% | $10,677 | +$6,966 | $17.63 |
| 5 | $78,000 | 67.1% | $14,578 | +$6,643 | $16.81 |
Open this scenario in the calculator, switch the state chip and put in your centre's real fee: the state average is a starting point, your fee is the answer.
Why the fee moves the sweet spot
A higher fee doesn't change your subsidy rate, but it raises the out-of-pocket gap on every day of care, and the gap is exactly what an extra workday has to out-earn after tax. That's why the same family can find their sweet spot a day earlier in Sydney than in Brisbane, and why the thresholds themselves are only half the story; the other half is on our income thresholds page. If you're comparing care types as well as states, the hourly caps table there covers family day care and outside school hours care too.
Questions about childcare costs
Does the Child Care Subsidy differ by state?
No. CCS rates, the income taper and the hourly caps are national. What differs by state is the fee your centre charges, and since the subsidy is a percentage of a capped amount, a higher fee means a bigger out-of-pocket gap even on an identical subsidy rate.
How reliable are these state averages?
They are starting estimates from Department of Education quarterly reporting, marked "estimated" in our rules profile, and centres in the same suburb can sit well apart. Treat them as a first pass and enter your centre's actual daily fee in the calculator for a real answer.
My centre charges more than the average. What does that do?
Above $15.19 an hour (for centre-based care below school age) the subsidy stops scaling: CCS pays its percentage of the capped amount only, so every extra dollar of fee above the cap is fully out of pocket. That is why fee differences matter more in expensive suburbs than the averages suggest.
Sources
- Department of EducationQuarterly reports behind the state fee averages
- Services AustraliaNational CCS rates and hourly caps
- Services AustraliaCCS income test and taper