Full list: How every childcare centre in Victoria compares

Families in the city are paying twice as much for childcare as those in the country but the soaring cost doesn’t necessarily mean better quality. See how your centre compares.

David Weinlich and son Brodie, 2, at home in Blairgowrie. Picture: David Geraghty

Soaring childcare costs of more than $800 a week are putting pressure on cash-strapped Victorian families, with parents in city areas paying twice as much as those in the country.

The gap is as much as $80 a day or $400 a week, with parents paying $161 a day in Armadale compared to $80 in Gippsland, data obtained exclusively by the Herald Sun shows.

But parents in middle-income suburbs of Oakleigh, Caulfield and Blackburn are also paying around $150 a day or $750 a week per child before government rebates — well above the national average of $112 a day, according to new data from KindiCare.

Parents only get 85 per cent back from the federal government, leaving them out of pocket as much as $6000 per child.

More generous rebates for parents of more than one child won’t kick in until next July.

It comes as Victoria’s average quality rating is 8.27 — the fourth best nationally behind ACT, South Australia and NSW.

Insiders say the sector is facing a “perfect storm” of growing waiting lists due to staff shortages, fee increases of five per cent a year and federal subsidies not keeping up.

KindiCare chief executive and founder Benjamin Balk said childcare has become the second biggest expense in many households after housing.

“Some of those paying $160 a day for childcare are only getting 20 per cent back,” he said.

Cost also doesn’t guarantee quality, with centres in Melbourne’s CBD charging $149 a day with an average quality rating of 8.32.

In comparison, Cowes on Phillip Island is nearly $50 cheaper a day but has an average rating of 8.9.

Chirnside Park in Melbourne is the suburb with the highest average ranking of 9 out of all centres in Australia. It’s also the best value, with an average daycare cost of $122.60.

The ratings out of ten are derived by KindiCare from government figures, social media feedback and length of operation, among other factors.

The state’s top performing centre is Starfish Early Learning in Nunawading (9.7).

The analysis by KindiCare, a childcare search app and management system, shows pressure is mounting in the system.

John Cherry, head of advocacy for Goodstart Early Learning, said parents on low incomes with only one child in care were “really struggling” because subsidies weren’t keeping up with rising costs.

“More than one in eight parents are hitting the fee cap which impacts most on low-income families,” he said.

He said there was the “perfect storm of workforce shortages” with more than 10,000 unfilled jobs in the sector nationally.

Brodie Weinlich, 2, from Blairgowrie, spends two days a week in a childcare centre in Tootgarook which charges $130 a day before rebates.

“The staff are very attentive – he loves them and they love him,” his father David said.

Originally published as Full list: How every childcare centre in Victoria compares