Plain definitions of the terms Australian childcare owners use to talk about occupancy and enrolments, with the formula for each where one applies. Written by Martin Niedenfuhr. Last updated September 2026.
Occupancy is the percentage of a centre's available daily places that are booked over a period.
Formula: Occupancy = average booked daily places ÷ available daily places × 100.
Why it matters: Use booked places, not attendance, and decide whether you measure against licensed or staffed places, then keep it consistent.
Licensed places, also called approved places, are the maximum number of children a service can educate and care for at any one time under its service approval.
Why it matters: This is a ceiling, not the number of places you can actually staff on a given day.
Available places are the places a centre can actually offer on a given day once staffing and room ratios are applied.
Why it matters: A centre cannot fill places it cannot staff, so occupancy measured against licensed places can hide the real position.
Attendance rate is the share of booked days on which children actually attend.
Formula: Attendance rate = days attended ÷ days booked × 100.
Why it matters: It shapes educator planning, but it is a different number from occupancy and the two are often confused.
A room-day vacancy is an empty place in a specific room on a specific day of the week.
Why it matters: Occupancy is rarely spread evenly. A centre at 78% can be full Monday to Wednesday in one room and half empty on Fridays in another, and marketing that targets the actual room-days works better than a general "places available" message.
The occupancy gap is the difference between a centre's current occupancy and its target occupancy, measured in percentage points or in daily places.
Formula: Gap in daily places = (target occupancy - current occupancy) × available daily places.
Why it matters: Expressing the gap in places, by room and day, turns a percentage into something a team can act on.
Vacancy cost is the estimated annual gross fee revenue attached to a centre's empty places.
Formula: Vacancy cost = extra booked places per day × average daily fee × operating days per week × operating weeks per year.
Why it matters: It is revenue before costs, not profit, but it shows what the gap is worth. Use the Vacancy Cost Calculator.
An enquiry is a family's first recorded contact with a centre about care, whether by form, phone, email or message.
Why it matters: Record every enquiry, including families wanting care you cannot currently offer, because those requests show where demand sits.
Response time is the time between a family's enquiry and the centre's first genuine reply.
Why it matters: An automatic acknowledgement does not count. Families who wait often move on to the next centre on their list.
The enquiry-to-tour rate is the share of enquiries that go on to book a tour.
Formula: Enquiry-to-tour rate = tours booked ÷ enquiries × 100, for the same group of families.
Why it matters: A low rate usually points to slow replies, unclear availability or no specific tour time being offered.
The tour show rate is the share of booked tours that families actually attend.
Formula: Tour show rate = tours attended ÷ tours booked × 100.
Why it matters: Reminders and a confirmed time the day before usually decide this number.
The tour-to-enrolment rate is the share of families who attend a tour and then enrol.
Formula: Tour-to-enrolment rate = enrolments ÷ tours attended × 100, for the same group of families.
Why it matters: It reflects what happens on the tour and whether anyone follows up afterwards.
Cohort tracking means following the same group of families through each stage, from enquiry to enrolment, rather than comparing monthly totals.
Why it matters: Dividing this month's enrolments by this month's enquiries mixes families who enquired months apart and gives a misleading rate.
Family attrition is the share of enrolled families who leave a centre over a period.
Formula: Family attrition = families who left ÷ families enrolled at the start of the period × 100.
Why it matters: Every departure is a place that has to be filled again, so ask for exit reasons consistently.
A day reduction is when an existing family books fewer days than before.
Why it matters: Occupancy can fall even when no family leaves.
Extension is occupancy growth from existing families, through extra days or siblings enrolling.
Why it matters: These are often the easiest places to fill, provided the extra days genuinely suit the family.
A waitlist is a record of families who want care a centre cannot currently offer, including the room, days and start date they need.
Why it matters: A waitlist does not mean a centre is full. It only helps if the requested room-days match the places coming free.
The Child Care Subsidy is the Australian Government payment that reduces the fees families pay for approved childcare, paid directly to the service.
Why it matters: Families decide based on what they will actually pay, so explaining the subsidy clearly removes a common reason to hesitate.
The gap fee is the amount a family pays after the Child Care Subsidy is applied to the centre's fee.
Why it matters: Parents compare gap fees between centres, not headline daily fees.
The Full Rooms Method is Martin Niedenfuhr's approach to filling childcare places, working through retention, extension, conversion and demand from the inside out.
Why it matters: Advertising comes last, because it only works once the rest can handle the families it brings in.
