What you actually pay: daily fees, CCS and the gap fee explained
How to turn a daily fee into your actual weekly out-of-pocket cost, step by step, with the traps that catch most families.
📋 Kindergarten, fees & subsidies · 6 min read
Key facts
- Your gap fee is the daily fee minus the Child Care Subsidy paid to the service on your behalf.
- CCS is capped at an hourly rate limit — any part of the fee above the cap is not subsidised.
- Services Australia withholds 5% of your subsidy through the year and balances it at tax time.
- Families are charged for booked days, including most absences and public holidays.
The four numbers you need
Every childcare quote comes down to four numbers: the centre's daily fee, the number of hours in that session, your CCS percentage, and the Government's hourly rate cap for centre-based day care. Get those and you can work out your gap fee yourself.
- Daily fee — the full published fee for the session, before any subsidy
- Session length — most long day care sessions are 10 to 12 hours
- Your CCS percentage — based on family income and activity, from Services Australia
- Hourly rate cap — the maximum hourly fee CCS will subsidise
Working it out
Divide the daily fee by the session hours to get your hourly fee. If that hourly fee is below the cap, your subsidy is your CCS percentage of the whole fee. If it is above the cap, the subsidy is calculated on the cap and you pay the difference on top of your normal gap.
Both Meraki centres run 12-hour sessions from 6:30am to 6:30pm, and meals, nappies, wipes, sunscreen, incursions and the kindergarten program are included in the daily fee — so there are no extra add-on charges layered on afterwards. Our team will run your exact numbers with you at enrolment.
The traps that surprise families
- The 5% withholding means your fortnightly gap looks slightly higher than the raw calculation
- CCS only starts once your enrolment is confirmed in your myGov Centrelink account
- Absent days are still charged, and CCS is generally still paid for allowable absences
- Public holidays are charged at both Meraki centres, as staff and fixed costs continue
- Free Kinder funding reduces the fee for kindergarten hours but does not make a full long day free
How to compare two centres fairly
Compare total weekly out-of-pocket cost for the days you actually need, not headline daily rates. A lower daily fee with nappies, meals and program extras charged separately can easily end up more expensive than an all-inclusive fee.
Frequently asked questions
What is a gap fee in childcare?+
The gap fee is the amount you pay after the Child Care Subsidy has been applied. The service charges the full daily fee, Services Australia pays your subsidy directly to the service, and you pay the remainder — the gap.
Why is my gap fee higher than I calculated?+
Two common reasons: Services Australia withholds 5% of your subsidy across the year to reduce the chance of a debt at tax time, and if the hourly fee is above the CCS hourly rate cap the amount above the cap is not subsidised at all.
Do I pay for public holidays and sick days?+
Yes. Booked days are charged whether or not your child attends, including public holidays. CCS is generally still paid for allowable absences, so your gap usually stays the same as a normal day.
Are there extra costs on top of the daily fee at Meraki?+
No. Breakfast, morning tea, a hot chef-cooked lunch, afternoon tea, a late snack, nappies, wipes, SPF 50+ sunscreen, incursions and the kindergarten program are all included in the daily fee.
Keep reading
Child Care Subsidy explained in plain English
Income test, activity test, hourly rate caps and how the subsidy reaches your invoice — without the Centrelink jargon.
Free Kinder in Victoria: what it covers and what it doesn't
How Free Kinder funding works inside long day care, what it covers, and why some families still see a daily fee.
Want to talk it through in person?
Book a tour of our Bayswater or Mooroolbark centre and ask us anything.