Family Day Care Educator
Family day care educators run a licensed early learning service from their own home, giving families flexible care and play-based learning for small groups of children.
- Median salary*
- $55,100
4.0%vs last year, before tax
- People employed
- 8,300
0.0%vs last year
- Projected growth
- +4.5%
to 2035
- AI exposure*
- Low
- automation risk
- Average hours
- 46/wk
+6h vs all jobs
- Shortage status
- In shortage
national
Family day care happens in the educator's own home, which is assessed and registered as a small service, rather than in a centre with separate rooms and a staff team. Groups are small, so one person handles learning, meals, rest times and records across the day, and children often stay with the same educator until school. Most educators work with a family day care service that handles enrolments, fee collection and the quality checks the scheme has to meet.
How much do family day care educators earn?
The median full-time salary for a family day care educator is $55,100 per annum, before tax, up $11,500 since 2018.
What you earn depends on how many children are in your care and how many days a week you open, because the income comes from the fees families pay for those places. Educators registered with a family day care service pay a levy out of those fees for coordination, enrolments and administration, so two educators charging similar rates can take home different amounts. Fees are also held in check by what local families and the Child Care Subsidy will cover, which is why filling your approved places matters more than lifting your rate.
What does a family day care educator do day to day?
The list below is what fills most weeks; the exact mix shifts with seniority and whatever stage the current work is at.
- Supervising and caring for a small group of children through the day, including meals, rest times and nappy changes
- Planning and running play-based learning activities matched to each child's age and interests
- Preparing meals and snacks and working around allergies, dietary needs and family preferences
- Recording children's development, attendance and routines, and sharing updates with families through apps such as Storypark
- Keeping the home safe, clean and ready for the visits and quality standards that apply to a registered service
What skills do family day care educators need?
Employers look for teaching and instruction, curriculum and lesson design, pastoral care and wellbeing, backed by Storypark fluency and strong safety and compliance awareness.
Specialist skills
- Teaching and instruction
- Curriculum and lesson design
- Pastoral care and wellbeing
Software and tools
- Storypark
- Xplor Education
- Kindyhub
- QikKids
General skills
- Safety and compliance awareness
- Written communication
- Attention to detail
- Empathy and interpersonal care
Is the job growing?
About 8,300 people work as family day care educators in Australia, and employment is projected to grow 4.5% over the decade to 2035. That's modest growth: demand is steady rather than booming.
How do you become a family day care educator?
Here's the path most family day care educators take, step by step.
- 1Get a qualification in early childhood education and care
A Certificate III is the minimum for working with children in most states, and a diploma or degree widens what you can do and charge. TAFE and private providers run both, usually with a placement in a service.
- 2Apply for a working with children check
Every state and territory requires one before you can care for children, under names such as the Working with Children Check, the Blue Card in Queensland or the Working with Vulnerable People card in Tasmania.
- 3Complete first aid and the other mandatory training
Approved services expect current first aid, anaphylaxis and asthma training, and sometimes child protection training, before your home can be registered.
- 4Register with a family day care service and have your home assessed
The service acts as the coordination unit: it inspects your home and outdoor space, checks fencing, sleep areas and storage, and supports you through the National Quality Standard.
- 5Open with a small group and build from there
Approved numbers depend on your space, and children of your own under school age usually count towards the total, so most educators start with a few places and add more as the routine settles.
Ready to apply as a family day care educator?
Whether you're working toward becoming a family day care educator or already are one and want a hand with the next step (sharpening your resume for ATS screening, tightening your cover letter, or knowing what you'll actually be asked at interview), here are examples grounded in this specific role, not generic templates.
What jobs can a family day care educator move to?
Moving into Childcare Centre Manager typically comes with the biggest pay rise, worth $48,000 a year more on average.
| Move to | Typical pay change | Overlap | Retraining |
|---|---|---|---|
| Childcare Centre Manager Leading a home-based service builds on early childhood practice, with a diploma needed for managing staff, compliance and a centre.Known move | +$48,000 | 16% | reskill |
| Early Childhood Educator The same child development and play-based learning skills carry into centre-based early learning, with a short qualification to make the switch.Known move | +$44,000 | 55% | short course |
| Nanny Home-based child care, routines and family communication carry into nannying, though further study in early childhood care is expected.Known move | +$14,600 | 40% | reskill |
| Residential Care Worker Personal care routines and supporting daily living carry into residential support work, though a qualification in individual support is needed.Known move | +$4,700 | 7% | reskill |
| Out of School Hours Care Educator Play-based learning and supervision of children carry into school-age care, with a short qualification covering outside school hours settings.Known move | +$4,700 | 53% | short course |
Moves are chosen from Jobs and Skills Australia's Data on Occupation Mobility, which follows income tax records between 2011-12 and 2020-21, together with entry requirements and skill overlap. A known move is one people were seen making in that data. Pay change compares median full-time pay for the two roles.
Who works as a family day care educator?
The typical family day care educator is 45 years old; 98% are women, 66% work full-time, and full-timers average 46 hours a week.
- 45
- Median age
- 98%
- Female share
- 66%
- Full-time
- +6h
- vs all-jobs avg
What's it like being a family day care educator?
The day follows a home routine of arrivals, play, meals, rest and pickups, with cleaning and documentation fitted around the children. Working from home removes the commute and lets you set your own hours, but it also means the workplace is never fully left behind and there is no colleague to take over when a child is unsettled. Average full-time hours come to 46 a week, which reflects how much of the administration sits outside the care itself.
What people like
- No commute and hours you set yourself. You decide which days you open and how many places you offer, and you are on hand for your own children while you work.
- Small groups mean you know each child well. With a handful of children, you follow their development closely and notice changes that would pass unnoticed in a busy room.
- Room to run the day your way. Within the approved learning framework, you choose the activities, the routines and how the space is arranged, without a room leader signing off.
- Long relationships with local families. Many educators keep the same children for years and become a familiar part of the neighbourhood.
What people find hard
- The workplace is your home. Toys, sleep mats, paperwork and cleaning live in your house, and the space needs to stay ready for inspections and family visits.
- Income rises and falls with enrolments. An empty place or a family leaving cuts what you earn, and fee income usually stops when you take holidays or fall ill.
- Working alone. A hard morning with a child or a difficult conversation with a parent comes back to you and the coordination service, not a staff team.
- Paperwork and compliance. Records, quality standards, safety checks and service visits take time that is not paid as care hours.
Based on our synthesis of professional-body surveys and public accounts of the role, not first-person verified reviews.
Which industries employ family day care educators?
Health Care and Social Assistance employs the largest share of family day care educators.
Top employing industries
- 1Health Care and Social Assistance
Ranked by employment share; the source doesn't publish an exact percentage per industry.
| Diploma / Advanced Diploma | 30.7% | |
|---|---|---|
| Certificate III/IV | 25.1% | |
| Bachelor degree | 15% | |
| Postgraduate | 14.5% | |
| Year 12 or below | 8.9% |
Will AI replace family day care educators?
Family day care work is rated as low exposure to AI, because the core of it is physical care and relationship: feeding, settling, supervising and reading how a child is going. The parts software reaches are the administrative ones, with apps such as Storypark, Kindyhub and QikKids taking on learning stories, attendance and daily reports, and services handling fee collection centrally. That changes how records are kept, not who looks after the children.
Share of typical working time by exposure level
- Caring for and supervising children through the dayFeeding, settling, nappy changes and keeping watch over a small group in a home setting all depend on being physically present with them.45%low
- Recording learning and sharing updates with familiesApps such as Storypark and Kindyhub now format learning stories, photos and daily reports, though you still decide what is worth recording and what it means.25%moderate
- Planning and setting up play activitiesChoosing what to put out for a tired two-year-old or a bored four-year-old comes from reading the children in front of you.20%low
- Talking with families and the coordination serviceConversations about a child's day, a settling problem or a change in routine happen between people, and parents notice how you raise them.10%low
Common questions about becoming a family day care educator
Straight answers to the questions people ask most.
How much do family day care educators earn?
Family day care educators earn a median of $55,100 per year before tax. What you take home depends on how many children you care for, how many days you open and the levy your service charges, so it varies more than centre-based pay.
How do you become a family day care educator?
You need a qualification in early childhood education and care, usually a Certificate III, plus a working with children check and current first aid training. From there you register with a family day care service, which assesses your home before you can take children.
Are family day care educators in demand?
Family day care educators are currently in shortage nationally, and employment is projected to grow 4.5% over the decade to 2035. Places in a home are capped by approved numbers, so demand tends to show up as waiting lists with local services; ask a service near you whether they need educators in your area.
Will AI replace family day care educators?
No, and the work rates as low exposure, because the core of it is physical care and relationship: feeding, settling, supervising and reading how a child is going. The part software touches is the record keeping, with apps such as Storypark and Kindyhub formatting learning stories, attendance and daily reports that used to be handwritten.
What can a family day care educator move into?
Centre-based early childhood education uses the same child development and play-based learning skills, and pay there is around $44,000 more. Nannying suits educators who would rather work with one family, while managing a service or centre is the step up for those who want to run a larger operation, with pay about $48,000 more.
Can you work as a family day care educator part time?
Yes, plenty of educators open only two or three days a week, which suits combining the work with study or caring for their own children. Income moves with the days you open and the places you fill, so a part-time service earns less than a full one.
Related roles
- Early Childhood Educator
- Residential Care Worker
- Nanny
- Out of School Hours Care Educator
- Childcare Centre Manager
- Early Childhood Educator
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