Childcare seems really expensive! We are going to move to Melbourne in September and I guess we then would have to pay $100-200 for our two children for full time. What is the most common thing to do in Australia - start working and put children in day care or stay home? Do you get paid in any way during your parental leave?

In Sweden you get paid 80-90 % of your salary for about 480 days. This money can be spread out over a longer period of time (up until the child is 8 years old) for example you can take out perhaps 50 % of your parental leave money the first 1 year and perhaps 50% the second year which means you can stay home longer if it is possible for your family to survive on less money. As I understand many parents stay home with their children until the child is about 1 1/2 years old and then the parents start working and put their children in day nursery. Think full time day nursery costs about $400 a month per child. On the other hand I believe the salaries are in general lower in Sweden then in Australia. Not sure how much though.

I am very curious about Australia and our "new" country and it is interesting to compare how things work in different places. Grateful to anyone who takes the time to answer my questions.