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Sources · our working

We don't guess. Here's how we know.

Every figure NestWise shows you is calculated from the same official rulebooks Centrelink, Services Australia and the ATO use themselves. No approximations, no scraping, no AI-guessed numbers.

How we keep the numbers right
Byte-exact engines — not approximations
Every calculation is a step-by-step implementation of the rules in the official guides — the income test, the 7-band cost percentage, the recognised participation cap (formerly called the activity test, renamed 5 Jan 2026), the supplements, the taper rates. Each engine is hand-traced against the published formula before it's allowed to ship.
198 regression tests on every deploy
We've locked in 198 hand-checked scenarios — real-shape families, with the answer reconciled to within 50 cents of the rulebook. Every code change runs the full test suite. If a single one drifts, the deploy doesn't go out.
A schema-guard gate stops drift between code and database
A build-time check reconciles the columns the app writes against the live database before any deploy ships. A code change that would write a field the database can't accept fails the build automatically — your data never lands in an inconsistent state.
Rate updates within weeks of the Government publishing them
Every rate, threshold, and tax bracket lives in one registry, pinned by financial year. When Services Australia or the ATO publishes new figures (CPI indexation each March/September, ATO each July), we update the registry, re-run all 198 tests, and ship.

Every source we cite

Below are the official Government sources NestWise draws on, grouped by topic. Tap any link to read the original — that's the same place we did. Not financial advice; just the rules, applied to your situation.

The big guides
DSS Family Assistance Guide
The full rulebook the Government uses for Family Tax Benefit, the income test, and shared-care rules.
DSS Child Support Guide
The full rulebook for how child support is worked out — the 8-step formula, the Cost of Children table, and the Self-Support Amount.
Child Care Subsidy
Services Australia — Child Care Subsidy
The Government's main page on CCS: who can get it, how the rate is worked out, and what counts as approved care.
Services Australia — Higher CCS rate
How families with more than one child aged 5 or under can get a higher subsidy on the second and later children.
Services Australia — Additional Child Care Subsidy
Extra subsidy for families in particular situations (transitioning to work, grandparent carers, temporary financial hardship, kids at risk).
Services Australia — Activity level and subsidised hours
How your subsidised hours per fortnight are worked out under the 3 Day Guarantee (which replaced the old activity test on 5 January 2026).
Department of Education — 3 Day Guarantee
The policy page explaining the 3 Day Guarantee — every CCS-eligible family gets at least 72 hours of subsidised care per fortnight regardless of activity level.
Family Tax Benefit
Services Australia — Family Tax Benefit
The Government's main page on FTB — who it's for, what Part A and Part B cover, and how income affects your rate.
Services Australia — Family Tax Benefit Part B
The extra payment for single-parent families and couples with one main income, plus the income test that decides whether you get it.
Services Australia — FTB supplements
The end-of-year top-up payments that lift Part A and Part B when you've lodged your tax return and met the rules.
Services Australia — Shared care rules
How payments are split when a child spends time across two households (FTB-A in particular).
Parental Leave Pay
Services Australia — Parental Leave Pay
Government Paid Parental Leave: how much, how long, the partner-reserved days split, and the income + work tests.
Rent Assistance
Services Australia — Rent Assistance
The Government's main page on Rent Assistance for families who rent privately and get FTB Part A above the base rate.
Services Australia — How much Rent Assistance you can get
The exact amounts and thresholds — how the 75¢-per-dollar rate works and where the cap kicks in.
Child Support
Services Australia — Child Support
The Government's main page on child support — how an assessment is made, how care % is decided, and how payments work.
Services Australia — Maintenance Action Test
Why you have to take reasonable steps to get child support before more than the base rate of FTB-A is paid.
Income tax & Medicare
ATO — Tax rates for Australian residents
The current income tax brackets we use to estimate your tax.
ATO — Medicare levy
The 2% Medicare levy and the low-income reductions that affect your take-home figure.
ATO — Low Income Tax Offset
The LITO that reduces tax for lower incomes — we factor this into your after-tax estimate.
Concession & dental cards
Services Australia — Low-Income Health Care Card
The card that gives families discounts on medicine, public transport, and some state-level entitlements.
Services Australia — Child Dental Benefits Schedule
Free or subsidised dental for eligible kids aged 0–17 (up to about $1,100 per child over 2 years).
State kindy / preschool
NSW — Start Strong (kindy funding)
NSW's Start Strong program: government funding to make a year of preschool affordable for every NSW family.
QLD — Free Kindy
QLD's free kindy program — 15 hours a week of free kindergarten for eligible families.
VIC — Free Kinder
Victoria's Free Kinder: 5 to 15 hours a week of free kindergarten for 3- and 4-year-olds.
State sports & activity vouchers
NSW — Active Kids voucher
$100 voucher per school-aged kid for sport, dance, or active recreation registration.
QLD — Play On voucher
QLD's sport voucher program — $200 per eligible child for sport club fees.
VIC — Get Active Kids voucher
Up to $200 per eligible child (HCC/PCC families) toward sport club membership and equipment.
SA — Sports Vouchers
$200 voucher per primary-school-aged child for sport, dance or fitness registration.
WA — KidSport
WA's sport voucher (up to $500/child for HCC/PCC families) for club registration.
TAS — Ticket to Play
Up to $200 per eligible child (HCC/PCC or FTB-A) for sport club fees.
ACT — Student Equity Fund
Tiered support for low-income ACT families for school activities, equipment and sport.
NT — Sport & Back to Sport Voucher
NT's combined voucher (up to $400 per child) for sport and recreation activities.
Rules can change. NestWise updates the calculators when Services Australia or the ATO publishes new rates — usually within a few weeks. If you spot anything that looks out of date, email usand we'll check.