What the possible childcare reforms could mean for your family

I’ve been crunching the numbers on a few childcare scenarios, and what the reforms proposed by the Productivity Commission will mean for different families.

Take a single mum with two kids in childcare, three days a week. Let’s assume she is on the minimum wage, which is just over $37,000 a year. Under this scenario she would be $53 a week better off – almost $2500 per year after tax.

But then let’s go to a family of five, with three kids under the age of six. The couple have a combined salary of $94,000 and they use a mixture of long day-care and after-school care two days a week. In this situation they would be $32 a week better off.

Let’s look at one more family, with a much higher income. With a combined income of $286,000 a year, they would be worse off by about $17.12 each week.

It is important to note, though, that this is about the Productivity Commission – it is a recommendation, not government policy.