hi ladies

the 43% is off the maximum child care benefit paid by the government - which is around $3.15 per hour - each child care provider has a different way of charging unfortunately, but to give you a run down example

child care costs $66 per day for each child - this child care provider charges for an 11 hour day, no matter how many hours your child is actually at the centre

in the 11 hour day, you get a rebate equivalent to 43% of the base rate for each hour (so around $1.35 per hour) - multiply that by the number of hours (11) and you get a daily rebate of around $14.90 - you then pay the difference to the child care provider.

the maximum rate you're looking at of $168.50 would apply for a person getting 100% rebate and using the maximum 50 hours of subsidised care per week

hope that helps in some way to ease your confusion a bit - the easiest way to work out your exact out of pocket costs each week is to go to the provider with your estimated child care benefit entitlement - and they'll let you know