Yikes, no percentage!

I went online yesterday to update DH income estimate with Centrelink and at the bottom of the page it told me that our new percentage of childcare allowance was going to be 0% Thankfully next year DD1 is going to Prep but till then it means we'll be paying $105 per day at Daycare for the two of them!!! So as it turns out the fact that I could only get DD1 into care one day a week is a good thing!

Does anyone know if FDC is cheaper then a Daycare centre? When DS and DD1 are both at school next year then there will be no need for DD2 to be in a daycare centre so i'm thinking of putting her in FDC just for 1 day a week to give me a break.

I don't really know much about it. For anyone who's kids go to FDC, how do you know when the person you have found is right for you? It worries me a bit, having my child in someone elses home.

Don't really know what i'm asking here...just some advice?

My kids are in family daycare (well she used to be family daycare) - about six months ago the carer detached from the FDC scheme which meant that we couldn't get any childcare benefit for our kids going to her. We went from being on 80% to nothing so it was either suck it up or move them. We stayed because we couldn't bear the thought of taking them out, we trust this lady implicitly and she's wonderful with our kids. We pay $110 a day for the two of them to stay with her when we could move them and be paying about $25 a day. That's how much we love her :) So as you can see we're great fans of FDC :D They only go for 2 x 6hr days a week though otherwise we'd be broke!

I'm paranoid about putting them into centres so there you go! LOL.

As far as price goes I think they're pretty much the same. I like FDC for babies because the attention is much more individualised and they only have one carer to get to know. The environment as a whole is much calmer and less overwhelming for them too since FDC can only have 4 children (including their own).

Sorry I prattled lol.

i have used both FDC and a centre...

i found FDC cheaper, for the fact that they charge by the hour, whereas our centre charges per 12hr day, so if hes in there 6hrs, we are still paying for 12... but i think a centre would be cheaper if you needed them in there all day...

the reason we moved from FDC to a centre was our FDC mum was unwell alot (hurt back) or her children were sick, which left us with no care for those days... where a centre we know that there will defiantly be care...

both have advantages and disadvantages!

Rachel - centrelink/FAO have options in place to try to reduce any potential overpayment before the end of the financial year - what happens is, if you've been paid on, for instance a 40000 income estimate for half the year, then increase that to 70000 - you're going to have been overpaid for those first months - instead of paying you what you're entitled to on the 70000 income, it reduces it further to counteract any overpayment before june 30

the same happens with Child Care

BUT - and here is the good news - you DO NOT have to accept that reduction. with childcare, the potential overpayment is based on having your child in care 24 hours per week (which it doesn't sound like you have). you can opt to have that reduction removed for the balance of this year and get your percentage back. it DOES leave you open to maybe having a slight overpayment at the end of the year - but it's hard to tell exactly what now - as it is entirely based on how many hours of care you've been using.

if i were you, i would call FAO and ask them to look into the change in rate. they can tell you how much you MIGHT have been overpaid (and as i said, that is based on you using care 24 hours per week, so if you've only been using one day, split this down the middle) and what your ACTUAL entitlement is for your childcare - and then you can opt to have the reduction removed...

i hope that explanation is clear - i'm tired, so it may sound a little jumbled - feel free to PM me if you want any more info

BG

Rachel, as well as what BG said, it could also just be that you haven't given them the provider number for the new day care (or you have but they haven't updated it yet). It might just take a call to them to fix it. OT, Where did you get them in?

Rachel i would call and get it checked out. We still get 26% and DH is on a high income.

Thanks everyone. BG - we are using 24 hours of care in total as they both go on a Friday. I think i'll call them today and see what they say.

I MR - I got them into ABC Mnt Gravatt. They love it there and the people are really, really nice.

Michelle i've PM'ed you :)

the 24 hour care i referred to is per child - not in total - so definitely call up and check hun

Good luck getting it sorter!

Every person is entitled to something - Even Lachlan and Sarah Murdoch!so something is a miss. Remember too that the end of year rebate means that you will get 30% of your out of pocket expenses back at tax time. The ALP has promised to up this to 50% begining July 1st which should help make life a little easier.

Did you get things sorted out Rachel ?

They said that they have put everything at 0 (0% and $0) so that at the end of the year we won't have TOO much of a debt. Because of Guys bonuses and the very big one at the end of last year, we still have a debt from last year so it's best this way. I think what we'll do from now on is get the lump sum at the end of the year and avoid any more debt!

I never thought of that. At least you might get some money back from them at the end of the tax year. I know it's no good now but when we did this a couple of years ago when we moved i love the little bit extra i got later on.

makes sense as to why it's gone to zero - when it moves into the new financial year, you're able to claim the minimum rate of child care which everyone - irrespective of income - is entitled to - it's not much, and you might choose to leave it on the zero rate - but considering you're guaranteed to be entitled to that amount, i'd probably take it...

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makes sense as to why it's gone to zero - when it moves into the new financial year, you're able to claim the minimum rate of child care which everyone - irrespective of income - is entitled to - it's not much, and you might choose to leave it on the zero rate - but considering you're guaranteed to be entitled to that amount, i'd probably take it...

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Thats exactly what i was going to say.
I have only been recieveing the minimum rate since Mya has been in day care because of Leons income.....i think its like 16.9% or there abouts. it isnt much, but is something.