Hi! I used FDC for years before I moved down here to Sydney.

I can help answer these to the best of my ability...

1. What should I look for in a carer and her house?

To me its what I would expect in my house. Safety is a must, but also the toys and the organisation of the place. I went to a few places, and during my carers holiday my children went to other's houses. I found a few had their entire house open to the kids, and things were everywhere, toys mainly. If they had the TV on.... etc...

Some carers who could give me a run down of their days, what they did. A few toys were out but not all the toys, there was set TV time where they watched 1-2 things all day. There were set "activities" like drawing or painting, water play etc. Those were the carers I would choose to go with.

2. How much does it cost and can I get some money back from the government or centerlink or the like?

In QLD all the carers charged independantly, so it depended on the carer. Yes you can get a child care rebate and the child care benefit using FDC.

3.Does the carer provide food/drink or do I send that along?

Depends on the carer. Ours supplied lunch but not snacks and only drink allowed was water. Milk/bottles were find for babies though.

HTH!