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WORK & CARE / RETURN-TO-WORK COMPARISON

What will the extra work leave you?

Compare your household’s take-home income after care, commuting and changing benefits.
These estimates are a guide, not personal financial or tax advice. Don’t rely on them alone to borrow, invest or change work arrangements. Check your actual rates, entitlements and costs, and get qualified advice when needed.

Make it yours

Example figures are filled in to get you started. Replace them with your own.

1. Household income

Current weekly household take-home income ($)
Proposed weekly household take-home income ($)

2. Costs in each scenario

Current weekly childcare after subsidy ($)
Proposed weekly childcare after subsidy ($)
Current weekly work costs: travel, meals, parking ($)
Proposed weekly work costs: travel, meals, parking ($)

3. Benefits and comparison period

Current weekly benefits NOT included in take-home income ($)
Proposed weekly benefits NOT included in take-home income ($)
Weeks per year this comparison applies
YOUR ILLUSTRATIVE RESULT
Based only on the values entered and assumptions below.
Change in money left each comparable week
$320
CURRENT: income after care and work costs / week
$1,500
PROPOSED: income after care and work costs / week
$1,820
Change across 48 comparable weeks
$15,360
What these balances exclude
Rent, food and all other household costs. This is a change comparison, not your complete disposable income.

How this estimate works

Both incomes must be after tax and HELP repayments. Use the childcare calculator for each care scenario with its relevant annual family income. Enter benefit income in its separate fields only if excluded from both take-home figures; otherwise enter zero. Work costs and childcare are entered for both scenarios. Annual change covers only the number of comparable weeks entered; other weeks are excluded. No automated tax, CCS, FTB, pension, super or entitlement calculation is performed here. Non-financial factors matter too.
Read the related Moneysmart guidance ↗Estimate your childcare costs first →
Explore the other family calculators →
A clearer picture, not a promise.
These estimates are a guide, not personal financial or tax advice. Don’t rely on them alone to borrow, invest or change work arrangements. Check your actual rates, entitlements and costs, and get qualified advice when needed.
All amounts are Australian dollars. Example values are editable illustrations, not typical family costs or quoted rates. Inputs stay in this page’s memory; they are not saved or sent. Refreshing or leaving the calculator clears them. Models reviewed 22 October 2026.