Privacy Policy

This website operates the Child Care Subsidy Calculator — a free, independent tool that helps Australian families estimate their out-of-pocket child care costs under the Child Care Subsidy (CCS) and Additional Child Care Subsidy (ACCS) programs.

This website is not affiliated with, endorsed by, or operated by Services Australia, the Australian Government, the Department of Education, or any child care provider. Results produced by this tool are estimates only and do not constitute a formal CCS determination.

For enquiries about this policy, contact us at: hello@childcaregap.com.au

This website collects only minimal, non-identifying technical information that is a standard by-product of operating any web server. Specifically:

• Server access logs: When you visit this website, your web host may automatically record standard server log data including your IP address, browser type, operating system, referring URL, pages accessed, and the date and time of your visit. This information is used solely for server security, uptime monitoring, and aggregate traffic statistics. It is not linked to any personal identity and is not used for marketing or behavioural tracking.

Beyond standard server logs — which are a technical requirement of all web hosting — we collect nothing. We do not run analytics tracking, advertising pixels, or behavioural profiling.

The following information is entered into the calculator by you and used only within your browser to produce an estimate. It is never sent to any server, stored in any database, or transmitted to any third party:

• Family income
• Number of children and their ages
• Care type, days in care, hours per day
• Centre fees
• Participation hours
• Support type (CCS or ACCS)
• Any other inputs you enter into the calculator

We also do not collect:

• Names, email addresses, or contact details (no account or registration required)
• Device identifiers, advertising IDs, or fingerprinting data
• Location data beyond what is recorded in standard server logs
• Payment information (this tool is entirely free)
• Cookies for tracking, advertising, or personalisation

This calculator saves your theme preference (light mode or dark mode) to your browser's localStorage. This is a small piece of data stored on your own device — not a cookie and not a server-side record.

The localStorage entry contains only:

• ccs-theme — the string "light" or "dark"

This data never leaves your device. It is not transmitted to any server. It is not linked to any personal identity. You can clear it at any time by clearing your browser's site data, or by resetting your browser storage in your browser settings.

No other localStorage or sessionStorage entries are written by this tool.

This calculator loads one external JavaScript library to render charts:

• Chart.js, served from the jsDelivr CDN (cdn.jsdelivr.net). When your browser loads this library, your IP address and browser type are disclosed to jsDelivr as part of the standard HTTP request. This is a standard behaviour of loading any external web resource. jsDelivr's privacy policy is available at jsdelivr.com.

No advertising networks, social media tracking pixels, or data brokers are embedded on this site. If this changes, this policy will be updated before that change is made.

This website links to external sources including Services Australia, the Department of Education, the Australian Immunisation Register, and other government websites. These links are provided for your convenience and reference.

We are not responsible for the privacy practices or content of external websites. When you follow a link to another website, that site's own privacy policy applies. We encourage you to review the privacy policies of any external site you visit.

This calculator is designed for use by parents, carers, and adults researching child care costs. We do not knowingly collect any personal information from children. Because this tool collects no personal information from anyone, it poses no specific privacy risk to minors.

The tool does not require registration or account creation, and no information entered into the calculator fields is stored or transmitted.

The Privacy Act 1988 (Cth) and the Australian Privacy Principles (APPs) govern the collection, use, disclosure, and storage of personal information in Australia.

Because this website does not collect personal information as defined by the Privacy Act — other than what may be incidentally recorded in standard server logs — the APPs have limited direct application to our operations. Nonetheless, we are committed to handling any incidentally collected information consistently with the spirit of the APPs:

• We collect only what is necessary (server logs for security and uptime)
• We do not use or disclose information for purposes beyond what is described here
• We do not sell, trade, or share information with third parties for commercial purposes
• We do not use information for direct marketing

We will disclose information if required to do so by Australian law, court order, or a lawful request from a government authority.

If you have concerns about how your information is being handled, you may contact the Office of the Australian Information Commissioner (OAIC).

We may update this Privacy Policy from time to time. Material changes — particularly any that involve the introduction of data collection, analytics, or advertising — will be notified by updating the "Last updated" date at the top of this page and, where possible, by a notice on the calculator itself.

Your continued use of this website after any changes to this policy constitutes your acceptance of the updated terms. If you do not agree with any changes, please discontinue use of this website.

If you have any questions, concerns, or requests regarding this Privacy Policy or how your information is handled, please contact us at:

Email: hello@childcaregap.com.au
Website: childcaregap.com.au

We will respond to enquiries as promptly as reasonably practicable.