Fees and Funding

The Australian government subsidises child care fees. In most cases, the daily fee is not the amount you will pay for your child/ren to attend child care. If you are eligible, you are only required to pay the “gap” fee, that is the difference between the daily fee that is charged by the centre and the amount the government will subsidise your fees. Each family is assessed individually. Child care centre daily fee - government subsidy = the cost for your child/ren to attend child care. Sound confusing? It certainly can be. This page will help you get a better understanding of how the system works.
We’ve also included the Choklits Child Care Subsidy Calculator below so you can get a close estimate of how much it will cost you to attend Choklits. Please note, when you register for any information (i.e. newsletter subscription, login details or complete a form) with us for any services offered on choklits.com.au, we’ll ask you to provide company and/or personal information.

Child care centre daily fee – government subsidy = the cost for your child to attend child care.

Sound confusing? It certainly can be. This page will help you get a better understanding of how the system works.

We’ve also included the Choklits Child Care Subsidy Calculator below so you can get a close estimate of how much it will cost you to attend Choklits.

When you register for any information (i.e. newsletter subscription, login details or complete a form) with us for any services offered on choklits.com.au, we’ll ask you to provide company and/or personal information.

Choklits Child Care & Kindergarten

What Determines My Families Subsidy?

Your combined family income is one of three key factors that determine how much Child Care Subsidy you will receive. Generally, as family income increases, the amount of Government Subsidy decreases. The other two factors determining your Child Care Subsidy is your fortnightly activity – such as work, study or volunteering, and the type of service your child attends.

Positive Changes To The Child Care Subsidy (CCS)

One of the benefits of the Government’s Child Care Subsidy which was introduced in 2018 to replace the Child Care Rebate was the removal of the annual cap for low and middle-income families. If your total combined family income was $186,958 pa or less, the annual subsidy cap was removed.

This has proved to be great news for families who hit the old cap well before the financial year was finished and found themselves paying full fees or reducing their number of days in care until the annual cap reset. It has also removed the barrier for families wanting to work extra shifts, or increase the days their child attends care.

Government support for families with children attending child care changes over time and in December 2021 the cap was removed for all families earning $351,248 pa or less, extending the same benefits to higher earning families.

In 2022, further changes to the CCS were introduced which has made sending your second and subsequent children to child care even more cost effective. Up to 95% of the child care fees are now covered in the CCS payments for your second and subsequent children who attend child care. More information about the 2022 child care subsidy can be found in this blog post.

Changes to the Child Care Subsidy continue to evolve and make child care more affordable for families. In 2023, the cap was raised again so families earning under $530,000 pa got an increased subsidy. The CCS percentage you’re entitled to depends on your family’s income.

The subsidy for families earning under $80,000 pa increased from 85% to 90%. These changes were all automatically applied from the week beginning July 10th, 2023. To calculate your family’s subsidy and entitlements, click here.

How Do I Calculate And Report My Income?

Unfortunately, calculating your exact subsidy entitlements can be a little confusing.

Prior to beginning care, you will need to complete a Child Care Subsidy assessment and apply for the subsidy via myGov. During this process, families will be asked to provide their estimated combined family income and their activity details. The government will communicate with you through myGov for all Child Care Subsidy matters.

Your subsidy percentage will be based on your estimated combined annual family income. Your actual subsidy entitlement will be worked out at the end of year reconciliation when your actual adjusted taxable income is known (after you have lodged your tax return).

The easiest way to estimate your income is to base it on your previous year’s tax return as well as any expected pay rises.

Note: 5% of your weekly Child Care Subsidy entitlement will be withheld by the government. Following reconciliation of your tax return at the end of the financial year, any amount owing to you will be paid as a lump sum by the government. If you have been paid too much Child Care Subsidy, you will have a debt to repay.

If you require information urgently, please call our centre or visit myGov.

Please also note: if your child is not immunised they will not qualify for any rebate or financial assistance under these schemes unless they have a valid exemption.

When you have registered at myGov, call Choklits, we will run through the entire system, explain how everything works, give you an estimated cost and alert you of other things you need to know moving forward.

If you’d like to estimate your own subsidy now using our child care subsidy calculator, head to choklits.com.au/calculator

Funded Kindergarten Programs

Choklits Services have funded three-year-old and funded four-year-old kindergarten programs which all carry the important “Kinder Tick” identifier. You can be assured that services that have the government awarded Kinder Tick operate a kindergarten program led by qualified teachers, the program delivered is play-based and the program is funded by the Victorian Government.

To learn more about kindergarten, how to choose a kindergarten program and the Choklits Kindergarten difference, head to choklits.com.au/kindergarten.

Note: many kindergartens are only open for limited hours and close periodically throughout the year. We operate from Monday to Friday and are open 52 weeks of the year including all school holidays to help cater for all family and work situations. More information can be found at choklits.com.au/kindergarten

What We Provide

The Choklits daily rate includes bedding, nappies, all meals (breakfast, morning tea, lunch, afternoon tea and snacks), a welcome pack which includes a Choklits sun hat when your child joins the centre and a Christmas present as part of our end of year celebrations. We also include all our regular incursions and excursions in the daily rate including our weekly sports program called Choklits Activate, music and movement classes and yoga tuition, plus library excursions and language classes for our kindergarten children along with daily updates on your child’s day via our communication app which includes information on everything from meals and nappy changes to experiences and excursions.

We have some super talented team members at Choklits so you will also receive a physical copy of our cookbook written by our Chef, and copies of our children’s story books authored by our team.

Fees and Funding

What Determines My Families Subsidy?