Australia's official quality benchmark. We weight this the most — it covers educational program, children's health and safety, physical environment, staffing, and governance.

💬

Parent reviews

We aggregate reviews from Google, KindiCare, and CareForKids to build a complete picture of parent satisfaction across multiple platforms.

💰

Fee transparency

Fees are verified against the Starting Blocks government database. We flag what is and isn't included so you can compare like-for-like.

📋

Program & inclusions

We assess curriculum approach, Free Kinder access, CCS approval, educator qualifications, and practical inclusions like meals and nappies.

Browse by suburb

All 50+ Melbourne suburbs

Select a suburb to see its top 3 ranked childcare centres. We're progressively adding full editorial guides to every suburb.

Altona Bentleigh Beaconsfield Berwick Box Hill Brunswick Bundoora Bunyip Camberwell Carrum Downs Cheltenham Clyde North Coburg Craigieburn Cranbourne East Croydon Dandenong Doncaster Epping Fitzroy Footscray Frankston Frankston South Glen Iris Glen Waverley Hawthorn Heidelberg Hoppers Crossing Mentone Mill Park Moorabbin Narre Warren Noble Park Northcote Officer Ormond Pakenham Point Cook Preston Reservoir Richmond Ringwood South Morang South Yarra Springvale St Kilda Sunshine Tarneit Thomastown Werribee

View all suburbs →

About top3elc

Independent. Transparent. For families.

top3elc.com.au is an independent guide to the best childcare centres in every suburb across Victoria. We do not accept payment or sponsorship from any centre to appear in our rankings.

All NQS ratings are sourced from ACECQA via the Starting Blocks government database. Fees are verified at time of publication. Parent reviews are aggregated from Google, KindiCare, and CareForKids.

ACECQA Starting Blocks KindiCare CareForKids