12 km from Melbourne CBD in the City of Banyule. 407 children under five.
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The top 3 childcare centres for Heidelberg families are St Hellier Street Child Day Care in neighbouring Heidelberg Heights (Meeting NQS, $119.20/day), A2Z Childcare and Kindergarten, also in Heidelberg Heights (Meeting NQS, $179.00/day under three), and Goodstart Early Learning Heidelberg in Heidelberg itself (Meeting NQS, $183.85/day under three). Rankings draw on quality ratings and regulatory history from ACECQA, plus fees and inclusions verified on Starting Blocks.
How we chose: we weigh five things together: NQS rating and how recently it was issued, parent reviews, program and environment, fees and inclusions, and practical fit including hours and Free Kinder access. We do not accept payment from any centre to appear on this list, and we do not rank by who owns a centre. Read how we rank.How NQS ratings work, and what Meeting and Exceeding mean →
No.1 PICK
St Hellier Street Child Day Care
95 St Hellier Street, Heidelberg Heights VIC 3081
Meeting NQS · April 2025★ Google 4.2/5 · 6 reviews
Google reviews, captured 22 October 2026
All 7 quality areas: Meeting
Regulatory detail and operational conditions
Meeting NQS issued April 2025 — the most recent assessment of any service a Heidelberg family can enrol in — repeating the Meeting result from March 2021. None of its seven quality areas is rated above the national standard, which is true of every centre ranked on this page.
Regulatory visit March 2025: Last visited by the regulatory authority in March 2025. Starting Blocks records no current conditions on the service approval and no enforcement action in the two years to 20 August 2026. Run by the City of Banyule. Source: Starting Blocks service record, retrieved 20 August 2026. Approved places not retrieved.
Daily fee
$119.20
Hours
Monday to Friday, 7:00am to 6:15pm
Ages
Birth to preschool age
CCS approved
Yes
Free Kinder
Yes, integrated
NQS
Meeting
St Hellier Street is a council-run service on St Hellier Street in Heidelberg Heights, operated by the City of Banyule. Weekday hours are 7:00am to 6:15pm and it takes children from birth to preschool age.
Its April 2025 assessment is the most recent of any service open to the public across both localities, and it returned Meeting in all seven quality areas, as the March 2021 assessment did.
The published rate is $119.20 a day at every age band. The register carries no inclusions list against it, so what that rate covers cannot be established from public data — this is the single most important question to ask on a tour.
No conditions sit on the service approval and no enforcement action has been recorded in the two years to 20 August 2026.
Our take
St Hellier comes first. Every centre a Heidelberg family can enrol in is rated Meeting with no quality area above the standard, and the three ranked here were assessed within twelve months of one another (April 2025 here, March 2025 for Goodstart, July 2024 for A2Z), so the rating ties them and program, fees and practical fit decide. Program evidence is level, and the opening hours differ by no more than half an hour at either end, which under our method does not count as a difference in practical fit. That leaves the fee, and $119.20 a day at every age is $59.80 below A2Z and $64.65 below Goodstart for an under-three, and $55.80 and $58.12 below them from 36 months. The qualification is real: the register publishes no inclusions list for this service, so that gap is between a bare rate and an itemised one, not a proven saving. A day of meals and nappies does not plausibly consume a gap of that size, but ask what is and is not covered. It holds 4.2 on Google from 6 reviews.
Best for: Families who want the newest assessment available to them and a low published rate, and who are prepared to ring and establish what that rate actually covers.
Meeting NQS · July 2024★ Google 5.0/5 · 40 reviews
Google reviews, captured 22 October 2026
All 7 quality areas: Meeting
Regulatory detail and operational conditions
Meeting NQS issued July 2024, its first rating, with all seven quality areas Meeting.
Regulatory visit July 2026: Last visited by the regulatory authority in July 2026, the most recent visit to any service open to the public across both localities. One condition sits on the approval: the categorical playground-standards and barrier-climbing clause (AS 4685) that appears across many unrelated services. No enforcement action in the preceding two years. Starting Blocks lists an email address and website but no phone number. Source: Starting Blocks service record, retrieved 22 October 2026. Approved places not retrieved.
Daily fee
$179.00
Hours
Monday to Friday, 6:30am to 6:00pm
Ages
Birth to preschool age
CCS approved
Yes
NQS
Meeting
A2Z Childcare and Kindergarten is on Waiora Road in Heidelberg Heights, open 6:30am to 6:00pm on weekdays, and takes children from birth to preschool age.
It charges $179.00 a day up to 35 months and $175.00 from 36 months, with seven inclusions listed against the rate on Starting Blocks.
Its July 2024 assessment, its first, returned Meeting in all seven quality areas. The regulator visited in July 2026, more recently than any other service open to the public here, and recorded no enforcement action. One categorical playground-standards condition sits on the approval.
Starting Blocks lists no phone number for the service; contact it through its website or by email.
Our take
A2Z is second. Its July 2024 assessment falls within twelve months of both other ranked centres, so it ties them on the rating, and with program level and opening hours within half an hour of each at either end, fees and inclusions decide. It loses that to St Hellier, $179.00 a day up to 35 months against $119.20. It wins it against Goodstart: $179.00 and $175.00 from 36 months, below Goodstart's $183.85 and $177.32 at every age, with seven inclusions listed against five or six. It also had the most recent regulatory visit of any service open to the public here, July 2026, and holds 5.0 on Google from 40 reviews.
Best for: Families who want a published inclusions list at a lower rate than Goodstart, and a centre the regulator visited recently.
Meeting NQS · March 2025★ Google 4.9/5 · 19 reviews
Google reviews, captured 22 October 2026
All 7 quality areas: Meeting
Regulatory detail and operational conditions
Meeting NQS issued March 2025, following the same result in May 2021. No quality area sits above the national standard. This is one month behind the centre ranked first and eight months ahead of the centre ranked second, so all three tie on the rating.
Regulatory visit March 2025: Last regulatory visit March 2025, the oldest of the three ranked here. One condition sits on the service approval: it appears on the state Category 4 bushfire list, and the provider must ensure the service does not operate on a day declared Catastrophic on the fire danger rating. That is a categorical clause applied to services in a mapped risk area, not a finding against this centre. No enforcement action in the two years to 20 August 2026. Operated by Goodstart Early Learning, which runs 667 services. Source: Starting Blocks service record, retrieved 20 August 2026. Approved places not retrieved.
Daily fee
$183.85
Hours
Monday to Friday, 6:30am to 6:30pm
Ages
Birth to preschool age
CCS approved
Yes
Free Kinder
Yes, integrated
NQS
Meeting
Goodstart Early Learning Heidelberg is on Rosanna Road, operated by Goodstart Early Learning, a not-for-profit group running 667 services nationally. Its 6:30am to 6:30pm weekday span is the longest of the three ranked here, though it opens and closes within half an hour of each of the other two.
The daily rate is $183.85 up to 35 months and $177.32 from 36 months, with an inclusions list published. A2Z also lists its inclusions, seven against five or six here, at a lower rate at every age; St Hellier lists none.
March 2025 returned Meeting across all seven quality areas, as May 2021 had. That assessment sits within twelve months of both centres above it, so the rating does not separate them.
One condition sits on the approval, a categorical bushfire clause tied to the state Category 4 list rather than to anything found at this service. The last regulatory visit was March 2025, the oldest of the three ranked.
Our take
Goodstart is third. Its March 2025 assessment ties it with the other two on the rating, and with program level and its longer day falling within half an hour of each at either end, the order turns on fees and inclusions. There it is the dearest of the three at every age, $183.85 a day up to 35 months and $177.32 from 36 months, against A2Z's $179.00 and $175.00 with seven inclusions listed. It does publish what its fee covers, which narrows its gap to St Hellier in a way the raw numbers overstate. It holds 4.9 on Google from 19 reviews, and one categorical bushfire condition sits on its approval.
Best for: Families who want a published inclusions list and a long day, who value a recent assessment over a lower rate, and who need care from 6:30am or until 6:30pm.
Rates for under-threes from Starting Blocks, re-read at every age band on 21 and 22 October 2026. St Hellier charges one rate from birth to preschool age; A2Z drops to $175.00 and Goodstart to $177.32 from 36 months. Average across these three centres: $160.68 a day before the Child Care Subsidy for under-threes and $157.17 from 36 months, an average of the three ranked here only, not of the two localities. St Hellier publishes no inclusions list at all, which is missing information rather than a statement that nothing is included, so its gap to the other two is not a like-for-like comparison. All three are CCS approved, worth up to 90% of the fee depending on household income and recognised activity.
Childcare fees vary by age group. The rates shown may reflect different age bands at different centres, so confirm the rate for your child's age directly with each centre.
Heidelberg has just three long day care services of its own, which is too few to choose between: a ranking of three drawn from a field of three selects nothing. This guide therefore covers Heidelberg 3084 together with the adjoining locality of Heidelberg Heights 3081, immediately to the north, giving seven services to assess. One of the three centres ranked below is in Heidelberg and two are in Heidelberg Heights, and each is identified by locality throughout.
One of Heidelberg's three is not open to the public. Austin Child Care Centre, on the hospital site, restricts enrolment to Austin Health employees and staff of approved associated organisations — its waiting list sits behind a staff-only intranet and its fees are debited from wages. That matters more here than it would elsewhere, because Austin is the only service across both localities rated above the national standard. Every centre a Heidelberg family can actually enrol in is rated Meeting, and none of the six holds a single quality area above the standard.
That is what shapes the ranking below. With the rating identical across the field, the page turns on what is left: how recent each assessment is, what a day costs, and what the fee covers. Every centre was checked against Starting Blocks and the ACECQA national register on 20 August 2026, with fees captured live at every age band; the ranked three's fees were read again on 21 October 2026. Approved places are the one field not retrieved — the register rate-limited on the day — and the page says so rather than carrying a number it has not confirmed. Templestowe joined the guides in October 2026, with First Steps Early Learning Journey ranked first.
Looking wider? Our Northern Suburbs guide lists every suburb we rank across the area, with each one's top centres.
Heidelberg 3084 holds three long day care services and Heidelberg Heights 3081 holds four. This page ranks three of those seven, one in Heidelberg and two in Heidelberg Heights, because a field of three is a list rather than a choice — and because one of Heidelberg's three is not open to the public.
Why this page crosses a boundary, and why it matters more here
The live register enumeration on 20 August 2026 returned seven long day care services across Heidelberg 3084 and Heidelberg Heights 3081 — three and four respectively — plus one standalone kindergarten and two other services that are not long day care. Ranking Heidelberg alone would mean selecting three from three, which selects nothing. The complication is that one of those three, Austin Child Care Centre on the hospital site, takes only Austin Health staff, so a Heidelberg family choosing from its own suburb is really choosing between two. Widening to Heidelberg Heights takes the field to six services actually available.
Every available centre is rated Meeting
Austin Child Care Centre holds Exceeding NQS in all seven quality areas and is the only service across either locality rated above the national standard — and it is closed to the public. Of the six a family can enrol in, all six are rated Meeting, and not one holds a single quality area above the standard. That is unusual and it changes how this page ranks: with the quality evidence identical, the order rests on assessment date, on daily cost, and on what each fee covers. Exceeding is the highest rating available through standard assessment; the separate Excellent designation is awarded by ACECQA on application and is held by fewer than 1% of services.
One of the three ranked publishes no inclusions list
St Hellier Street, run by the City of Banyule, shows no inclusions against its fee on the register. That is missing information, not a declaration that nothing is included: a service can provide meals and nappies without listing them. It means the gap between its $119.20 and the $179.00 to $183.85 charged by A2Z and Goodstart for under-threes is not a like-for-like comparison, because only the other two state what their fee buys. Ask what a full day covers: meals, nappies, sunscreen, program and excursion costs. On gaps of $55.80 to $64.65 a day across the age bands a genuine advantage almost certainly survives the answer, but its size is not knowable from public data.
One fee figure in circulation is wrong
One caution: Cheeriokids Heidelberg currently publishes $182.90, up from $166.00 in July 2024, and a figure of $172.90 is still circulating in indexed data. If you see $172.90 quoted anywhere for that centre, it is out of date.
Approved places are not published on this page
Approved places, the licensed capacity of a service, are held only on the ACECQA national register. The register rate-limited the session on 20 August 2026 and capacity was not retrieved for any centre here. This page records that as not retrieved rather than carrying an unverified number or implying none exists. Ask each centre directly if capacity matters to your decision.
Of the centres a family can actually enrol in, St Hellier Street Child Day Care, though it is in neighbouring Heidelberg Heights 3081 rather than Heidelberg itself. The three ranked centres tie on the rating, all Meeting and assessed within twelve months of one another, and St Hellier charges the least at every age, $119.20 a day against $179.00 at A2Z and $183.85 at Goodstart for an under-three. If you need a centre inside Heidelberg 3084, Goodstart on Rosanna Road is ranked third. The genuinely highest-rated service in the area, Austin Child Care Centre, holds Exceeding NQS in all seven quality areas but takes only Austin Health staff.
How much does childcare cost in Heidelberg and Heidelberg Heights?
For an under-three, the three centres ranked here publish $119.20, $179.00 and $183.85 a day, an average across these three of $160.68 before the Child Care Subsidy. St Hellier charges the same at every age; A2Z lowers its rate to $175.00 and Goodstart to $177.32 from 36 months (Starting Blocks, 21 and 22 October 2026). These figures describe the three ranked centres only and are not an average for either locality. St Hellier publishes no list of what its fee includes, so its gap to the other two is not a straight comparison. Most families are eligible for the Child Care Subsidy, worth up to 90% of the fee depending on household income and recognised activity.
Why is the highest-rated centre in Heidelberg not in the top three?
Austin Child Care Centre is the only service across Heidelberg and Heidelberg Heights rated above the national standard — Exceeding NQS in all seven quality areas, issued December 2023 — and it also had the most recent regulatory visit in the set. It is excluded because it is not available to the public: Austin Health limits enrolment to its own employees and to staff of approved associated organisations, the waiting list is obtainable only from a staff-only intranet, and fees are debited from wages. A family with no Austin Health payroll relationship cannot enrol there. If you do work for Austin Health, it should be the first place you call.
Why is Morobe Street no longer ranked?
Morobe Street charges $106.00 a day, the lowest rate here, but its May 2023 rating is more than twelve months older than all three ranked centres at the same Meeting level. Under our method a gap of more than twelve months is decided on the rating before fees are weighed, so it sits below them. It is listed under other services with its fee and regulatory record.
Why is A2Z ranked above Goodstart?
Both are rated Meeting and their assessments are eight months apart, so they tie on the rating and program, fees and practical fit decide. A2Z is cheaper at every age, $179.00 against $183.85 up to 35 months and $175.00 against $177.32 from 36 months, and lists seven inclusions to Goodstart's five or six. Goodstart closes half an hour later, which under our method is not a large enough difference to count. A2Z also had the most recent regulatory visit of any service open to the public here, July 2026.
Do any centres in Heidelberg hold an Exceeding NQS rating?
One: Austin Child Care Centre, assessed December 2023, above the national standard in all seven quality areas — and it is restricted to Austin Health staff. Every other long day care service across Heidelberg 3084 and Heidelberg Heights 3081 is rated Meeting, and none holds a single quality area above the standard. Exceeding is the highest rating achievable through standard assessment; Excellent is a separate designation awarded only on application to ACECQA and held by fewer than 1% of services nationally.
Is the Child Care Subsidy available at all centres here?
Not at all of them. The three ranked centres are all CCS approved. But Ivanhoe Children's Community Co-operative in Heidelberg Heights shows as CCS not offered on Starting Blocks, which means the subsidy does not apply to fees paid there — a family assuming it did could be out by up to 90% of the fee. Always check the CCS status on a service's Starting Blocks record rather than assuming a fee implies subsidy eligibility.
Do these centres offer funded kindergarten?
St Hellier Street and Goodstart indicate a funded kindergarten program within long day care hours; confirm A2Z's arrangements directly. Victoria's Free Kinder program funds kindergarten hours for eligible three and four-year-olds. Confirm the current program, days and any age cut-off directly with each centre, as availability changes year to year.
Data sources: ACECQA (NQS ratings and quality area results), Starting Blocks (Fees, inclusions, hours, CCS status and conditions on approval). top3elc.com.au does not receive referral fees.