Long Day Care Centres in Perth Metropolitan
Guide to choosing a long day care centre in Perth Metropolitan, with 126 providers listed and tips on fees, staffing, and what to check before enrolling.
Long day care covers centre-based child care that typically runs from early morning to early evening, five days a week, for children from around six weeks old up to school age. It's the option most families use when both parents work, or when a child needs a consistent daily routine with structured play, meals, rest times, and early learning built in. We're tracking 126 long day care centres across the Perth Metropolitan area, ranging from small independent operators to larger chains attached to bigger networks.
What to look for before you enrol
Not all centres run the same way, even if they follow the same national quality framework. A few things are worth checking in person, not just online:
- Educator-to-child ratios and qualifications: ask who is actually in the room day to day, not just what's listed on paper.
- Quality rating: centres are assessed against the National Quality Standard, so ask for their current rating and what areas it covers.
- Waitlist and availability: some centres in busy suburbs have waits of six months or more for specific age groups, especially nursery spots.
- Daily routine and food: whether meals are cooked on-site, how nap and outdoor time are structured, and how they handle allergies.
- Fees and gap payments: daily rates vary a lot, and it matters how they handle public holidays, sick days, and the Child Care Subsidy.
How our scoring works
We rank centres based on factors like sustained quality signals, responsiveness, and consistency of service over time, rather than a single review or star rating. For the full rundown of how we weigh these factors, see our methodology page. If you want a shortlist rather than the full list of 126, our ranked guide to child care agencies pulls out the stronger performers across Perth Metropolitan.
Find care for long day care centres
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All long day care centres, ranked by score and relevance
We found 126 businesses offering long day care centres; 15 met the criteria for the scored directory. The order weighs each business's overall score by how much of its reviewed work is long day care centres, so a lower-scored specialist can rank above a higher-scored generalist. Filter and sort below, or open the full map view.
Enquiries submitted through this site's forms may be passed to partner providers who can do the work, and we may receive a referral fee. Our rankings and scores come from our independent scoring method only and are not affected by referral fees.
Common questions about long day care centres
- How much does long day care cost in Perth Metropolitan?
- Daily fees generally run somewhere between $120 and $170 a day before subsidies, depending on the suburb, the centre's facilities, and whether meals are included. The Child Care Subsidy reduces this for most families based on income and activity level, so your actual out-of-pocket cost will usually be lower than the advertised daily rate.
- How many days a week do families typically use long day care?
- Most families book two to five days a week depending on work commitments. Many centres require a minimum booking of two set days to hold a permanent place, and casual or ad hoc days are harder to secure since centres prioritise regular enrolments.
- What should I expect on a first visit to a centre?
- A good centre will walk you through the rooms by age group, show you the outdoor play area, explain their daily routine (meals, rest, activities), and talk through their staff ratios and qualifications. You should also ask to see their most recent quality assessment rating and how they communicate with parents day to day, whether that's through an app, a diary, or verbal handover.
- How do I judge the quality of a long day care centre?
- Look past the marketing and check the National Quality Standard rating, ask about staff turnover (high turnover often signals problems), and watch how educators interact with children during your visit. Word of mouth from other local parents and how well the centre handles enrolment questions upfront are also decent indicators of how it runs day to day.