This report provides a snapshot of Child Care Subsidy (CCS) approved care over the December quarter 2023.
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Key Findings
About this report
The December quarter 2023 report includes data on:
- the number of children and families using approved care
- the number and types of approved services
- the cost of care
- total government subsidies.
The report covers the four approved care types that administer CCS.
In Home Care has been excluded from all service type, state and usage analysis for privacy reasons.
Learn about the data, including sources, definitions and technical notes
Detailed findings
Children
1,484,720 children from 1,059,990 families attended a CCS approved service.
1,419,380 children from 998,760 families were allocated a Customer Reference Number (CRN) by Services Australia, up 1.1% from the December quarter 2022. The remainder of this report analyses this cohort.
49.2% of children aged 0 to 5 and 34.4% of children aged 0 to 12 used approved care.
Of children in care:
- 59.9% (850,900 children) attended Centre Based Day Care
- 36.9% (524,040 children) attended Outside School Hours Care
- 5.1% (72,690 children) attended Family Day Care.
New South Wales had the largest share of children attending approved care, at 32.3% or 457,820 children. Western Australia had the largest proportional increase, at 2.8% or 3,540 children.
37,780 children accessed Additional Child Care Subsidy.
| State or territory | Percentage of children using approved care |
|---|---|
| New South Wales | 32.30 |
| Victoria | 24.00 |
| Queensland | 23.00 |
| South Australia | 6.90 |
| Western Australia | 9.10 |
| Tasmania | 1.70 |
| Northern Territory | 0.80 |
| Australian Capital Territory | 2.30 |
61,090 Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander children attended approved care, up 4.1% from the December quarter 2022.
New South Wales had the largest share of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander children attending approved care, at 37.0%.
The majority of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander children using care attended Centre Based Day Care, at 68.9%. This compares with 59.9% for all children in care.
28.5% of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander children using approved care attended Outside School Hours Care, compared to 36.9% of all children.
| Care type | All children | Indigenous children |
|---|---|---|
| Centre Based Day Care | 59.90 | 68.90 |
| Family Day Care | 5.10 | 4.40 |
| Outside School Hours Care | 36.90 | 28.50 |
Families
998,760 families used approved care, up 1.3% from the December quarter 2022.
The number of families using Centre Based Day Care increased by 1.9% (12,620 families). The number of families using Outside School Hours Care increased by 2.3% (8,950 families).
New South Wales had the largest share of families using Centre Based Day Care, at 32.5% (225,120 families).
26,710 families accessed Additional Child Care Subsidy.
| State or territory | Percentage of families using Centre Based Day Care |
|---|---|
| New South Wales | 32.50 |
| Victoria | 25.50 |
| Queensland | 22.30 |
| South Australia | 6.00 |
| Western Australia | 9.10 |
| Tasmania | 1.70 |
| Northern Territory | 0.80 |
| Australian Capital Territory | 2.20 |
Services
14,584 approved services operated during the quarter.
Centre Based Day Care services represented 63.2% of all services, with 9,222 services. Outside School Hours Care services represented 34.0% of all services, with 4,952 services.
Compared to the December quarter 2022:
- the number of Centre Based Day Care services increased by 3.6% (321 services)
- the number of Outside School Hours Care increased by 2.1% (103 services)
- the number of Family Day Care decreased by -6.5% (-26 services).
| Care type | Percentage of approved services |
|---|---|
| Centre Based Day Care | 63.20 |
| Family Day Care | 2.60 |
| Outside School Hours Care | 34.00 |
| In Home Care | 0.20 |
Usage
On average, children attended 27.0 hours of care per week, up 1.9% from the December quarter 2022.
Of Centre Based Day Care services:
- Northern Territory had the highest average weekly hours, at 38.3 hours
- Tasmania had the lowest average weekly hours, at 27.1 hours.
| State or territory | Average weekly hours |
|---|---|
| New South Wales | 33 |
| Victoria | 33.3 |
| Queensland | 35.8 |
| South Australia | 30.2 |
| Western Australia | 30.1 |
| Tasmania | 27.1 |
| Northern Territory | 38.3 |
| Australian Capital Territory | 34.1 |
| Australia | 33.3 |
Fees
The average hourly fee was $12.35, up 8.9% from the December quarter 2022.
Outside School Hours Care had the lowest average hourly fee at $8.80 per hour. Centre Based Day Care had the highest at $12.85 per hour.
| Care type | Average hourly fee |
|---|---|
| Centre Based Day Care | 12.85 |
| Family Day Care | 12.55 |
| Outside School Hours Care | 8.8 |
| Total | 12.35 |
The hourly rate cap for children below school age at Centre Based Day Care services was $13.73. With the exception of the Australian Capital Territory ($14.35), all states and territories had average hourly fees below the hourly rate cap for Centre Based Day Care.
Nationally, 76.3% of Centre Based Day Care services had an average hourly fee under or at the hourly fee cap. This compares to 86.4% in Outside School Hours Care under a fee cap of $12.02, and 59.6% under a cap of $12.72 in Family Day Care.
Data on Centre Based Day Care hourly fees by Statistical Area Level 3 (SA3) shows that the regions with the highest hourly fees are typically located in parts of Sydney, Perth, Melbourne and Canberra.
| State or territory | Average hourly fee |
|---|---|
| New South Wales | 13.00 |
| Victoria | 13.05 |
| Queensland | 12.40 |
| South Australia | 12.55 |
| Western Australia | 13.10 |
| Tasmania | 11.85 |
| Northern Territory | 11.80 |
| Australian Capital Territory | 14.35 |
| Australia | 12.85 |
Subsidies
The total estimated expenditure by the Australian Government was $3.54 billion. This includes Child Care Subsidy and Additional Child Care Subsidy.
Additional Child Care Subsidy accounted for $154.9 million of this.
The total estimated expenditure was up 26.9% from the December quarter 2022.
The majority of Child Care Subsidy went to families using Centre Based Day Care, at $3.05 billion or 86.2%.
8.3% went to families using Outside School Hours Care.
| Care type | Estimated Child Care Subsidy |
|---|---|
| Centre Based Day Care | 86.20 |
| Family Day Care | 5.20 |
| Outside School Hours Care | 8.30 |
| In Home Care | 0.20 |