Tax Deductions for Nepali Childcare Workers in Australia 2026

Who is this tax guide for?

This guide is for Nepali workers employed in Australian childcare and early childhood settings, including long day care, preschool and kindergarten environments and outside-school-hours care. Your exact deductions depend on your role, duties, employment arrangement and what your employer provides.

A childcare educator, assistant, room leader or OSHC employee can have different duties. The purpose and circumstances of an expense matter more than simply having “childcare worker” as your occupation.

1. Compulsory uniforms and eligible work clothing

You may be able to claim eligible costs for buying, hiring, repairing or cleaning qualifying work clothing. A compulsory uniform generally needs to be explicitly required under a workplace agreement or policy and satisfy the relevant ATO rules.

Ordinary conventional clothing is generally private. Plain black pants, ordinary shirts, jeans or standard shoes do not automatically become deductible merely because your centre asks you to wear them or you reserve them for work.

2. Working With Children Check

This is especially relevant for childcare employees. Current ATO guidance says the cost of a Working With Children Check can be deductible where an existing employee needs to obtain or renew the check to continue earning assessable income in the position. It can also apply to a new employee where their recent employment income comes from continuous employment in a child-related field.

The circumstances matter. Keep the receipt and information showing how the check relates to your existing or continuous child-related employment.

3. Training, courses and self-education

Self-education expenses may be deductible where there is a sufficient connection with your current employment. This can include eligible training that maintains or improves the specific skills or knowledge you need for duties you already perform.

A course is not automatically deductible simply because it concerns childcare. Study designed to help you obtain a new job or move into a new occupation is generally treated differently. You also cannot claim a cost paid or reimbursed by your employer.

4. First aid and role-specific training

Some childcare workers undertake first aid or safety training as part of their employment. A deduction may be available where the expense has the required connection with your current duties, you paid it yourself and you were not reimbursed. The specific facts of your role matter.

5. Teaching aids, resources and work equipment

If you personally purchase items that are sufficiently connected with performing your work, eligible costs may be deductible. Depending on your duties this could include certain teaching aids, professional resources, stationery or equipment used for work.

For assets, the tax treatment can depend on cost and use. If an item is also used privately, only the eligible work-related portion can generally be claimed.

6. Phone and internet use

You may be able to claim the work-related portion of your own phone or internet costs when the use relates to performing your employment duties and you keep records supporting the work use. Private use must be excluded.

For casual employees, merely receiving calls or messages asking whether you are available for a shift does not automatically make those phone costs deductible.

7. Union and professional association fees

Relevant union or professional association fees may be deductible in appropriate circumstances. Keep your annual statement or receipt. Different types of payments, such as joining fees, can have different treatment, so do not assume every payment to an organisation is deductible.

8. Car and travel expenses

Normal travel between home and your regular workplace is generally private. Some travel undertaken in the course of your work can be treated differently, including eligible travel directly between workplaces or work locations.

Keep a clear record of the reason for work travel and use the applicable ATO calculation and record-keeping rules.

9. Working from home

If you genuinely perform employment duties from home, you may be able to claim eligible additional running expenses using an ATO-approved method. You must satisfy the method's requirements and keep the required records.

Ordinary household expenses do not automatically become deductible, and you cannot claim items your employer provides or reimburses.

Childcare worker expenses: quick guide

Expenses childcare workers should be careful not to claim

• ordinary everyday clothing and conventional footwear
• normal meals, snacks, coffee and drinks during an ordinary workday
• normal travel from home to your regular workplace and back
• childcare or before/after-school-care costs for your own child so you can work
• private phone and internet use
• private gifts or personal expenses that do not satisfy the deduction rules
• expenses paid or reimbursed by your employer
• study that does not satisfy the work-related self-education rules.

Records to keep for your tax return

Keep evidence showing what you paid, when you paid it, the amount and how the expense related to your employment. Depending on the claim, this may include receipts and invoices, phone or internet usage records, travel records, course documents, workplace policies and evidence of employer reimbursements.

Example: Nepali childcare educator

Suppose Sita works as an educator at an Australian early learning centre. She pays to renew a Working With Children Check required to continue in her existing role, buys a compulsory distinctive uniform and pays for professional development directly related to duties she already performs. She also uses her own phone partly for documented work purposes.

Depending on the detailed rules and her records, some of those costs may be deductible. If she also buys ordinary casual clothes, pays for lunch, drives from home to her normal centre and pays childcare fees for her own child while she works, those expenses are generally private.

What if you work at more than one childcare centre?

Make sure income from all employers is included in your tax return. Travel directly between workplaces can have different treatment from ordinary home-to-work commuting. Also ensure the same expense is not claimed twice and that mixed-use expenses are apportioned correctly.

What if you are studying early childhood education?

Being employed in childcare while studying does not automatically make the whole course deductible. The important issue is whether the study has the required connection with the current employment duties through which you already earn income, rather than merely preparing you for a new job or substantially different occupation.

Before lodging: Nepali childcare worker checklist

• Check that your income statements are complete.
• Separate private expenses from genuine work expenses.
• Exclude employer-reimbursed amounts.
• Apportion mixed phone, internet and equipment use where required.
• Check that clothing actually satisfies the relevant rules.
• Review the circumstances of your Working With Children Check.
• Check the connection between study and your current duties.
• Keep supporting evidence for every deduction claimed.

General information only: This article does not constitute personal tax, financial or legal advice. Deductibility depends on your individual circumstances and the law applying to the relevant income year. Check current ATO guidance or obtain advice from a registered tax professional before lodging.