How profitable is your childcare centre actually? See your EBITDA, breakeven occupancy, and staff:child ratio compliance in 60 seconds.
Built specifically for NSW long-day-care operators. Uses Children’s Services Award benchmark wages and the National Quality Framework educator ratios. Free, no signup.
Childcare Profitability Calculator
EBITDA, breakeven occupancy and ratio compliance for NSW childcare centres.
Centre capacity
Age mix (% of total places)
Costs
Three steps, sixty seconds
Enter capacity
Licensed places, current occupancy, daily fee, and operating days per year.
Set age mix
Percentage of places in each age band — this drives the required educator hours via NSW staff:child ratios.
Add costs
Average educator wage, rent, food per child, and other overheads. See your EBITDA, margin, and breakeven occupancy.
The regulated educator-to-child ratios
Under the Education and Care Services National Regulations (NSW), centres must maintain these minimum ratios at all times children are present.
| Age band | Ratio | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Birth to 24 months | 1:4 | Most expensive room to staff. |
| 24 months to under 36 months | 1:5 | Transition room. |
| 36 months up to and including preschool | 1:10 | Most efficient room — drives margin. |
Plus qualified educator requirements: at least 50% diploma or higher, with one ECT for centres of 25+ places.
Questions we hear a lot
How accurate is this estimate?
It’s a directional model — accurate enough to flag whether your centre is in the green, amber, or red zone. It uses industry-typical 30% wage on-cost and a 1.15 shift overlap factor. Actual margins depend on agency use, casual loadings, qualified mix, and any government grants. For a precise board pack, Trinity provides full management accounting for childcare operators.
Why is occupancy so important?
Childcare has high fixed costs — rent, base wages, and overheads are largely unchanged whether you’re at 70% or 95% occupancy. Each additional occupied place per day flows almost directly to EBITDA. A 5% occupancy improvement on a 70-place centre is roughly $135,000 of additional annual revenue at $155/day.
What’s a “good” EBITDA margin for childcare?
Healthy NSW LDC operators typically achieve 10–18% EBITDA. Above 18% is exceptional and usually means strong occupancy, a high 3–5 year mix, and tight wage management. Below 8% is fragile and at risk in any downturn or staff cost increase.
How does this handle CCS?
CCS is paid to your centre directly by Services Australia, reducing the fee parents pay you. Your revenue figure should be the gross fee (what you bill), not the parent contribution. CCS affects cash flow timing (lag between enrolment and CCS payment) but not gross revenue.
Where does my data go?
Nowhere. The tool runs entirely in your browser. No data is sent to Trinity, no signup, no email capture.
Does this work for OSHC or Family Day Care?
Partially — the underlying maths is similar but ratios differ (OSHC is 1:15 NSW for school age, FDC is 1:7 with no more than 4 preschool age). For specific advice on those models, book a call with Trinity.
I want to buy or sell a centre — can Trinity help?
Yes. Trinity advises on childcare centre acquisitions, financial due diligence, structuring, and sale preparation. We work with brokers and direct buyers across NSW.
