Both long day and occasional care centres provide care for children from 6 weeks of age to school age (6 years old).
Long day childcare
In long day care, children need to be booked into a regular timetable of days, so this type of care tends to suit families who have regular schedules, such as study or work. Most, but not all, long day care centres also provide kindergarten programs taught by qualified teachers during school hours.
Be sure to start the process of looking into your long day care options early, as some childcare centres have long waiting lists.
Some centres may accept waiting list applications before your child is born, but most will request that you apply after your child is born.
Be aware that centres may charge a fee to place a child on the wait list.
Long day care centres tend to be individually owned and operated, so each have their own ways of working. Some key differences may include:
- Operating hours
- Fee structure
- Centre size
- Room set-up, size and the number of children per room
- What the centre provides - for example meals, nappies, sunscreen
Contact each centre you are interested in to book a tour of the centre and be sure to ask them lots of questions. You will find a list of questions to ask and things to look out for when you visit a child care centre at the Raising Children Network’s Childcare Checklist.
Be sure to ask about the children’s program to make sure they are using an approved learning framework. In Victoria these are:
- Early Years Learning Framework - Belonging Being and Becoming
- Victorian Early Years Learning and Development Framework
You can also check the Centre’s rating against 7 quality areas according to the National Quality Standards on the Australian Children's Education and Care Quality Authority website.
Occasional care
Occasional care is provided in a range of facilities such as community centres, neighbourhood houses, gyms/recreation centres and integrated family centres. Children of all ages play and learn in the same space. Occasional care does not offer a funded kindergarten program.
Occasional Care can be for one-off care or for short term needs, but whatever option you choose, you will still need to enrol your child and book in the care you need based on session times and availability.
Even though occasional care is casual, it is still regulated by the Victorian Government and providers are required to use an approved learning framework.
In Victoria, these are:
- Early Years Learning Framework: Belonging Being and Becoming —available on the Australian Children's Education and Care Quality website(open in new window)
- Victorian Early Years Learning and Development Framework — available on the Victorian Government website(open in new window).
Occasional care is a great childcare option if you need to attend an appointment, study, do casual work, exercise or have a break from full-time parenting as the sessions usually only run for a few hours.
Cost
Registered childcare centres receive funds from government to help keep fees low for eligible parents. The subsidy is most commonly paid directly to the child care centre to reduce the fees you pay. The Child Care Subsidy is based on:
- your family’s income
- the hourly rate cap based on the type of childcare you use and your child’s age
- the hours of recognised activities you and your partner do.
The government also provides funds to registered childcare centres that deliver kindergarten programs. A child may need to attend a minimum number of hours of kindergarten for the centre to be eligible to receive funding.
Find out more about child care subsidies and costs at the Raising Children Network.
Find out more about Kindergarten fees and subsidies.
Find a long day or occasional childcare centre
Use this map to find long day or occasional childcare centres within the City of Boroondara.
To find childcare centres outside of the City of Boroondara, you can use the Australian Government’s Find Child Care tool.