Childcare costs skyrocket

Thursday 5 February 2015

The Australian is reporting today that childcare fees are chewing up to a quarter of family disposable income, despite growing subsidies from the government:

A family earning $115,000 a year before tax — the combined income of a teacher and a shop assistant — is paying 24.3 per cent of take-home pay on childcare fees.

Families earning $150,000 — the equivalent of two average wages — are losing 22 per cent of their disposable income just to pay for childcare. For families below the poverty line — earning $35,000 a year — a fifth of the household budget is spent on daycare fees.

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About the author

Leith van Onselen is Chief Economist at the MB Fund and MB Super. He is also a co-founder of MacroBusiness. Leith has previously worked at the Australian Treasury, Victorian Treasury and Goldman Sachs.