Your Child Care Salary: Take-Home Pay After Tax and Medicare

Your Child Care Salary: What You Actually Take Home

If you work in child care, knowing your child care salary after tax and the Medicare levy helps you budget for rent, bills, and savings. This guide uses the latest public data to show what changes your fortnightly pay.

What the Data Shows

According to Jobs and Skills Australia, the median full-time weekly earnings for child carers (including child care workers, family day care workers, nannies, and out of school hours care workers) is $1,341 before tax. That works out to about $35 per hour for full-time workers. However, many child care employees work part-time (53% of child carers work part-time hours), so your actual pay may differ.

If you are covered by an award, your minimum pay rates are set by the Fair Work Commission. For employees not covered by an award, the National Minimum Wage applies: $26.44 per hour or $1,004.90 per week from 1 July 2026.

From Gross to Net: Tax Brackets and the Medicare Levy

Your take-home pay is your gross salary minus income tax and the Medicare levy. For the 2026–27 tax year, the resident tax rates are:

• $0 – $18,200: Nil
• $18,201 – $45,000: 15c for each $1 over $18,200
• $45,001 – $135,000: $4,020 plus 30c for each $1 over $45,000
• $135,001 – $190,000: $31,020 plus 37c for each $1 over $135,000
• Over $190,000: $51,370 plus 45c for each $1 over $190,000

You may also be eligible for the Low Income Tax Offset (LITO), which can reduce your tax by up to $700 if your taxable income is $37,500 or less. The offset phases out between $37,500 and $66,667.

The Medicare levy is 2% of your taxable income, but only if your income is above the single threshold of $35,013. If your income is between $28,011 and $35,013, you pay a shade rate of 10c per dollar over the lower threshold. Most full-time child care workers earning above $35,013 will pay the full 2%.

The Role of Super

Your employer must pay super (superannuation) on top of your salary. From 1 July 2026, the super guarantee rate is 12% of your ordinary time earnings, up to a maximum contribution base of $270,830 per year. Super is not deducted from your pay; it is an additional benefit. When you see a job ad quoting a salary, it is usually plus super unless stated otherwise. Your take-home pay is calculated from the gross salary before super is added.

Fortnightly Take-Home Example

Let’s take the median full-time child care salary of $1,341 per week, which is $69,732 per year (52 weeks). Assuming you are a resident, single, no HELP debt, and not salary sacrificing:

• Taxable income: $69,732
• Tax on first $45,000: $4,020
• Tax on remaining $24,732 at 30c: $7,419.60
• Total tax before offsets: $11,439.60
• LITO: At $69,732, LITO is $325 minus 1.5c per dollar over $45,000 = $325 – $370.98 = $0 (fully phased out)
• Medicare levy: 2% of $69,732 = $1,394.64
• Total deductions: $12,834.24
• Annual take-home: $56,897.76
• Fortnightly take-home: $56,897.76 ÷ 26 = $2,188.38

This is an estimate only. Your actual take-home may vary due to rounding by your payroll system, HELP/HECS repayments, or the Medicare levy surcharge if you do not have appropriate private hospital cover.

Key Takeaways

• Your child care salary before tax is typically between the minimum wage and the median of $1,341 per week.
• Tax brackets and the Medicare levy reduce your gross pay. Use the Take-home pay guide to calculate your own figures.
• Super is extra – it does not come out of your pay.
• The Tax and Medicare page has full details on thresholds and offsets.

If you are unsure about your award classification, check the Fair Work Ombudsman’s Pay and Conditions Tool. For personalised estimates, use our Clearance tool.