How much does daycare actually cost in West Ryde?

Headline rates are easy to find. The number that actually leaves your account is not. Here's what we charge, what's included, and what families typically pay per week after Child Care Subsidy in 2026.

Our daily fees

We have three rates, set by age:

• $177 per day for the Joeys Room (0–2 years)
• $167 per day for the Jungle Room (2–3 years)
• $160 per day for the Star and Rainbow rooms (3–6 years)

The fee is per attended day, regardless of pickup time. A parent collecting a child at 3pm pays the same as one collecting at 6pm. Most families book either three days, four days, or five days a week, with the same days each week.

What's actually included

This bit matters when you're comparing centres. Our fee includes everything except a change of clothes and a labelled water bottle:

• All daily meals, prepared on site by our cook (breakfast, morning tea, hot cooked lunch, afternoon tea, late snack)
• The education program
• Cancer Council Kids 50+ sunscreen, applied throughout the day
• For Joeys and Jungle (children under 3), all nappies and wipes
• Two free orientation visits before your child's start date

If you're comparing us to a centre that asks parents to bring meals or nappies, the real cost difference is bigger than it looks. A week of nappies for a baby is roughly $20–$30. A week of packed lunches and snacks is $50 or more. Add it up before deciding which centre is "cheaper."

Child Care Subsidy in plain terms

Child Care Subsidy (CCS) is a payment from Services Australia that pays a percentage of your daily fee directly to the centre. You only pay the gap.

Three things determine your subsidy percentage:

1. Combined family income. The lower your household income, the higher the percentage.
2. Activity test. Both parents (or the sole parent) need to be working, studying, volunteering or caring for at least 8 hours a fortnight to get any subsidy at all. More hours of activity gives access to more subsidised hours per child per fortnight.
3. Type of care. CCS-approved long day care like ours is eligible for subsidy up to the hourly rate cap. What you actually pay depends on your CCS percentage. The cap is currently $15.19 per hour, so families pay any difference between our hourly rate and the cap, and a percentage of the rest depending on income.

The Australian Government's Payment and Service Finder will give you a personalised estimate. Most middle-income Sydney families receive a subsidy of 50% to 75%.

A practical example

Take a family with two children, a one-year-old in the Joeys Room and a three-year-old in the Star Room, both attending three days a week. Combined family income $180,000. Both parents working full-time.

Headline weekly fee:

• Joeys: $177 × 3 days = $531
• Star: $160 × 3 days = $480
• Subtotal: $1,011 per week

With CCS at roughly 70% (typical for this income bracket and activity level in 2026), the family pays about $303 per week out of pocket, or roughly $50 per child per day. The rest is paid directly by the government to the centre.

This is a rough example. Your actual subsidy depends on your income statement, your activity test, and any annual cap that applies. Run the numbers on the Services Australia tool, then we can sanity-check them with you on a tour.

Other costs to know about

The headline daily fee is genuinely most of it. The two other things worth knowing:

• Holding deposit. A $500 holding deposit is required at enrolment. It's applied to your final invoice when your child leaves the centre, or refunded if you give us 4 weeks' written notice.
• Public holidays. If your enrolled day falls on a public holiday, you're charged for that day at the normal rate. The centre is closed but the place is held for you. This is standard across Australia.

That's it. There's no enrolment fee. No food fee. No nappy fee. No book levy. Some incursions are absorbed into our daily fee, but specialist or multi-week programs are charged separately and are always opt-in, with written notice in advance.

Promotional offer for 2026

For new families enrolling now, we're running a 25% discount on the first 4 weeks of care. The offer applies to children who enrol and start by 31 December 2026, and can't be combined with other discounts. From week 5 onwards, standard centre fees apply.