Daycare and kindergarten in Sydney

First off, you should know that daycare and preschools fill up fast and furiously in Sydney, especially in the most popular suburbs. Some people even waitlist their chilren for an extended amount of time beforehand to gain admission.

For kindergarten (primary school) you'll have to decide whether you want to send your child to a public institution or a religious or private institution. Fees vary accordingly. If you choose to send your child to public school and you're on a 457-working visa then you'll have to pay 4500 AUD a year in annual fees plus about 150 AUD per term in resource fees. If you have residency you can send your child for free, and only pay the resource fees.

Otherwise, you'll have to enquire with the individual schools to get an idea of cost. Religious schools usually charge around 1000 AUD per term; the private schools can charge up to 25,000 AUD (but it varies widely).

Hi,
In Sydney long day care places cost between $60 - $110 per day. The cost varies on the hours of service and what the day care centre provides. For example, we pay $74 per day in Sydney's Eastern Suburbs (in a very popular suburb); lunch and morning afternoon tea are provided but we provide nappies. I know other centres that charge more but nappies are provided. We waitlisted our youngest son for a year before getting a spot, it cost $20 to put his name on the waiting list.

An alterative to a long day care centre is Family Day Care, where children are looked after in a family home (we call it child minding in the UK). This can be an excellent choice and slightly cheaper than a centre.

The year before Primary School is officially called preschool in NSW (although many Australians call it Kindy). If you have a child of preschool age you can reduce costs by finding a preschool that only offers school hours i.e. 9am - 3pm (assuming that fits in with your work study). We did this and paid $45 per day. Most long day care centres operate between 7:30am and 6pm, they usually have preschool rooms and as mentioned above will charge up to $110 per day.

As Stephanie mentioned, public schooling in Australia is free depending on your visa type. Kindergarten is the first year of Primary School in NSW. If you're on a permanent resident visa you'll only pay for uniform and stationery. Temporary resident visas usually incur higher costs ($4,500 per year for school fees). The Catholic education system is excellent in Sydney and at around $800 per term (depending on the school) can be a cheaper option if you have to pay the $4,500 school fees.

Most schools in Australia offer after school care called "out of hours school care" that can be paid for on an hourly basis ($15 - $20 per hour I believe). Often one school in a suburb provides after school care for a number of different schools so children are picked up or walked to a central location.

Hope this helps with the cost, I've provided losts of Australian terms for different things so that you might have more luck doing online research, I found all the new terms like "long day care", "family day care" and "out of school hours care" a minefield when we moved over! 

Good luck!
From Sarah @ Mum's gone 2 Aus
http://www.mumsgone2aus.com - a blog providing help from mums moving to Australia.

HELLO, I WOULD LIKE TO KNOW THAT WHETHER I HAVE TO PAY 4500 AUD ANNUAL FOR MY 4 YEAR OLD DAUGHTER OR NOT.ANNUALLY HOW MUCH MONEY DO I HAVE TO PAY FOR 4 YEAR OLD CHILD? THANKS &BEST REGARDS

From your webpage, I came to know that in Phoenix kindergarten students can learn everything properly. Teachers of that kindergarten are real professionals and they surely know how to handle kids.

Is it possible - I am working daytime, Mu Hubby night shift works till baby is grown up???!!! And we are taking care of baby!! Anyone trying this?? We are thinking to move to Sydney!! And got to know daycare is expensive and need to wait long. My baby will be 3+ when we will arrive!!