Australia has some pre-school options, provided normally by private organisations, and parents can
get a reduction on this cost up, to about 85%, depending on income, from
Centrelink.
May people comment that these places are very difficult to get, and you need to
be booked in years ahead, however my area of Brisbane seems to have no problems
like that.
An example of one of the larger companies that provide this, is The ABC Learning
Centres http://www.childcare.com.au/
In April 2005 the full fee, for our local one, for a 3yr old child was quoted as
about $41 per day before the
Centrelink Discount. This can reduce to about $6 per day after the
benefit.
In June 2008, The ABC Learning Centres announced a substantial increase in
their daily child care rates.