Welcome to Australia Blog

 

Immigrating with a Family

Change and open-mindedness is essential!

In the past 5 years of living in Australia my husband and I have encountered many other migrants making similar moves as ourselves: a big move with a young family on the way.

Given that the average age of an immigrant adult is 35 years, a family on the move is usual.

The settling and adjusting to this types of move can mean many changes, either permanent or temporary, to family life.

House husbands, women taking on the small family mortgage, two parents working part-time jobs… are just a few of the immigrant family starting points we’ve encountered.

 

Child Care, Brisbane

There are 4 main childcare providers here in Australia: C&K, Local Community Care, ABC Care Centers and the Family Day Care Association.

There are also some occasional day care centers where you only need to book a week in advance and pay per hour.

Each Care association varies in style, opening hours, structure, philosophy, capacity and nature. What they do have in common is the stipulated regulations in terms of health and safety regulations, qualifications of Carers (Blue Card holders), ratio of care staff to children etc.

Typically children are organized according to age there are classrooms and an outdoor shaded play area. The fees decrease as the children reach the Kindergarten year (aged 3.5 years until prep year aged 5)

Some centers are long day care, opening at 7am and closing at 6pm and are open all year round, the daily rate is the daily rate. Others follow the school semester. With places, priority goes to moms who are returning to work, first, then ‘mother’s rest’ care, second .

The fees are means tested, that is calculated on earnings. The most expensive all-day care fees I’ve seen are 70$ a day and the cheapest are 35$, with family day care having a hourly rate of 7$. There is a 30% tax rebate on these fees and as mentioned they are reduced further depending on your income.

Places at child care are in demand, particularly in state capitals. It is worth visiting all the care options in your area and putting your name down on the list at several, being prepared to wait or take the days available.

Financially, one of the big complaints is that in some lines of work it isn’t financially worth working and sending your child to care as you barely cover the fees. When working there is also a decrease in family assistance (child payment given by government to all families).

Useful Resources:
Child Care Tax Rebate
C and K Child Care: www.candk.asn.au/
ABC Child Care: www.childcare.com.au/ourfamily/dod-details.php