Happy new year! Yes, it’s a new financial year today and if you’re based in Australia, you’ve probably checked out what the new tax rates and rebates will mean for you. If not, use the new tax calculator developed by Plum Solutions.

A point of interest for many of you will be the 50% child care rebate that was promised by the Australian Government in the November election and more recently in the budget. But did you know it’s capped at a maximum of $7500? That means that if you pay more than $60 per day for your child care, you’ll be getting less than the 50% promised. Many of the women I asked pay $80 or more per day for their child care, so for them the rebate will look more like 47% and if you’re up in the $100 per day plus bracket (which I’m told is not unusual for long day care) you’ll be limited to a rebate of 30%.

Since ABC Learning Centres, previously on the lower end of the scale, have recently announced a 10% increase, it’s only a matter of time before others follow suit. And knowing how seriously working women take their parenting and care decisions, it will be worth watching and waiting to see how the government’s going to keep working women on side, if this promise fails to deliver.

I’m be interested to hear from you – what do you pay for child care and are you satisfied with the level of rebate as it currently stands? Or should child care be fully deductible like other costs directly associated with earning an income?