[lisa_spyder]

I don't know what the system is like over there, but maybe you should be looking at whether there are any rebates for childcare available. Here there are a couple; one income tested and the other not. Been a while since mine were in care, but the non-income tested rebate didn't add up to much anyway (kinda like the tax break).

Also, care for under 2yo is more expensive here than for over 2s. Mostly to do with staff/children in care ratios. What I do remember is that by the time no 3 was in care it was getting mighty expensive.