Ok the forum is so very quiet but I could really use some advice.
I've just started to look into childcare options for the kids and am terribly confused.
Does anyone have any tips or suggestions on where to look for advice?

DS1 is school aged but may need some out side of school hours care depending on how DH's work turns out.
DS2 will be 1.5 when we arrive in Australia.
I'll be working at a university so they have childcare centers there and seem to have some arrangements to take childcare costs out of your salary before tax etc but warn that that might influence government payments. The childcare looks really expensive at $115 a day. Is this normal? Do you get much back from the government? And do you have to wait until the end of the financial year or do you get it throughout the year? Is there an easy way to work out how much you'll get back? (At the moment it looks like my salary will almost all be spent on rent and childcare).
At the moment DS2 is in family day care with the big advantages that there is one dedicated carer that we know well, it's cheaper, we only pay for the hours he is actually there, and there is a lot of flexibility in terms of changing times or stopping for a few weeks if I take him with me on a business trip or something. Does anyone know if family day care in Australia is also so flexible? Or are the childcare centers there less rigid than the ones here? We once had to pay full rates for 3 months for DS1 even though he was away with us in Ghana so that we could keep his place, and would rather not have to do that again.
Hmm I've got so many questions but think I better stop there. If anyone has any answers for these or other general suggestions that would be fantastic! Thanks