OWNA for childcare centres: pricing, CCS, terms and alternatives
Where parents and educators log in, then OWNA for centre owners: the per-centre prices and extras, what its Child Care Subsidy registration covers and doesn’t, what its terms say beside the no-contracts line, where data sits, what app reviews say, and the alternatives. With a year-one cost calculator, a fit quiz and a switching checklist.
On This Page
Most people who search "OWNA" are parents or educators looking for the login, so that answer comes first. The rest of this guide is for the owner or director of a long day care centre, OSHC service, preschool or family day care service deciding whether to move to OWNA, stay on it or leave. It covers what OWNA costs at your size, what its Child Care Subsidy registration covers and doesn't, what its terms say beside its "no contracts" line, where your data sits, and how it compares with the alternatives. I build childcare centre websites and have no relationship with OWNA or any vendor here. Everything comes from OWNA's own pages, help centre and terms, the Department of Education's software list and the app stores.
- App or webUse the OWNA Childcare App (App Store or Google Play), or the web portal at portal.owna.com.au. The same login works for both.
- Your usernameIt's "not always the same as your email address". Your centre sends the invite; you can also tap Request Access on the app's login screen.
- Locked out or forgot your passwordReset it at portal.owna.com.au/password-reset.aspx. Too many wrong tries blocks you for 60 minutes. OWNA doesn't support families directly, so ask your centre.
OWNA for centre owners, in short
- Australian, priced per centre. OWNA is made by OWNA Corp Pty Ltd in Bella Vista, NSW. The plan with Child Care Subsidy and billing is $149 to $249 a month, by the number of children.
- Registered for long day care and OSHC only. The Department of Education's list shows OWNA for Centre Based Day Care and OSHC. It isn't registered for family day care or in home care, even though OWNA advertises a family day care price.
- Read the terms, not just the pricing page. The pricing page says no contracts; the terms include auto-renewal for fixed terms, price rises on 90 days' notice and a 36-month window to export your data.
Who makes it
OWNA is Australian owned and privately held. It has also bought Juice Technology, so Kidsoft, Kangarootime Australia, smartcentral and Kindyhub are now OWNA brands. "OWNA vs Kidsoft" is a comparison inside one group. Kidsoft centres can sync to OWNA and run both.
What it costs
Prices are per centre, banded by enrolled children. OSHC bands are double the size.
| Children (OSHC) | Lite, monthly | Premium, monthly | Premium, billed annually |
|---|---|---|---|
| Up to 100 (up to 200) | $99 | $149 | $139 a month |
| 101 to 200 (201 to 400) | $149 | $199 | $189 a month |
| 201 or more (401 or more) | $199 | $249 | $239 a month |
Scroll the table sideways to see every column.
- Lite has no Child Care Subsidy or billing. OWNA pitches it as "Best for preschools" that report state funding but don't claim the subsidy.
- Premium adds the subsidy, billing and payments, financial reports, email campaigns and multi-centre management. Enterprise is on quote, for 25 or more centres.
- Extras: $399 once to set up enquiry, waitlist and enrolment forms, with customisation quoted on top. HR is $5 per employee a month, or $8 with payroll. OWNA can also run your accounts admin for you, from $99 a week per centre.
- Annual billing is non-refundable.
- Get the GST basis in writing. OWNA's price table says "All Prices Inclusive of GST"; its terms say the price "is exclusive of GST".
Family payments run through Fat Zebra: 1.75% for Visa and Mastercard, 2.65% for Amex, and 75c per bank direct debit. Card surcharges are banned, so card fees are your cost.
In that example, payment fees cost about twice the subscription, so a quote that only shows the monthly fee undersells the real cost. Watch the band edge too: crossing 100 enrolled children moves a centre from $139 to $189 a month, and OWNA's terms let it check your enrolment numbers.
What the Child Care Subsidy side does
OWNA's help centre covers the subsidy work in detail: creating, ceasing and reactivating enrolment notices, sending a complying written arrangement to the parent's app, weekly session reports with optional automatic submission, absences with reasons, ACCS certificates and determinations, Inclusion Support claims and fortnightly statements of entitlement. You'll need a PRODA device registered for it and reactivated every six months.
Two things to know before you choose it:
- Family day care and in home care aren't covered. A family day care service that lodges subsidy claims needs a product registered for that service type, such as smartcentral (an OWNA brand), HubWorks!, Harmony Web or Fully Booked.
- Inclusion Support claims can't move. OWNA says claims must be lodged from the software they started in, so tell Inclusion Support before you switch.
Features worth knowing
- Enquiries, tours and waitlist: hosted enquiry and enrolment forms you link from your website, tour slots inside the enquiry form, waitlist tags and letters of offer, and links tagged by source. WordPress sites can send Gravity Forms enquiries straight into it.
- Parent app: photos, daily information, learning stories, bookings, invoices, statements of entitlement and direct debit sign-up.
- Programming: observations and learning stories against the EYLF and MTOP, or your own framework.
- Rostering and ratios: live ratios from sign-ins, predicted ratios from bookings, and a check on diploma-qualified staff.
- Sign-in kiosk: families sign children in and out with a PIN on a centre device, and you can stop staff checking in on their own phones.
- Compliance: incident reports, medication, menus, a quality improvement plan built on ACECQA's template, and mandatory multi-factor login for admin users.
- What I couldn't find: family billing synced to Xero or MYOB (only staff timesheets go to Xero).
What the terms say
The pricing page says: "We don't lock our customers into contracts or do notice periods." That's true of a month-to-month subscription. The terms, which sit under a Commercial Terms form that isn't published, also say:
- Fixed terms renew automatically unless either side gives notice at least 30 days before the term ends.
- Prices can rise on at least 90 days' written notice before the anniversary.
- The app's licence asks for one month's written notice to cancel.
- Data export is free for up to 36 months after you leave, in OWNA's format, after which OWNA may delete it with 30 days' notice. Subsidy records must be kept for seven years and some records far longer, so export everything before you go.
- Back-ups are your job: OWNA "is under no obligation to maintain, back-up or store Your Data".
- Your data stays yours, but "content developed by the parties" vests in OWNA. Ask OWNA to confirm in writing that observations, learning stories and photos count as your data.
Where the data sits
OWNA's security page says all its services run on Microsoft Azure's Australian data centres and "All data remains within Australian borders at all times", with encryption, daily backups and annual penetration testing. Its older privacy policy says some limited personal information goes to US companies that process images and video. I found no ISO 27001 or SOC 2 claim. Ask which statement is current, and name OWNA and its data locations in your own privacy policy.
What parents and educators say
The app rates 3.9 on Apple's store and 2.7 on Google Play, where it's labelled "Contains ads". Reading the recent low-rated reviews, the common themes are navigation, a recent redesign that moved daily information into one timeline, notifications, crashes, kiosk sign-in problems, and ads or a shop inside the app. The positive reviews mention real-time meals, sleeps and nappies, photos, and marking a child absent from the app. If your families already like their current app, expect some pushback when you switch.
The alternatives
| Published price | Subsidy registration | Data location stated | |
|---|---|---|---|
| OWNA | $139 to $249 a month per centre | Long day care, OSHC | Azure Australia |
| Xplor Office (Xplor Group) | From $204 a month ex GST; full bundle $558 | Long day care, OSHC | Australia |
| QikKids (Xplor Group) | From $275 a month ex GST | Long day care, OSHC | Not checked |
| HubWorks! | $1,728 a year per service | All types, incl. family day care | Sydney |
| Harmony Web | $1,760 a year incl GST, plus modules | All types, incl. family day care | Australian servers |
| Storypark + Xap | From $229 a month | Through Xap | Sydney |
| Kidsoft, Kangarootime, smartcentral | Quote (all OWNA brands) | Yes; smartcentral includes family day care | Australia |
Scroll the table sideways to see every column.
Brightwheel doesn't serve Australia, and Toddle is a childcare search site, not centre software. My childcare software comparison goes through each in more depth.
Is OWNA a fit?
Switching checklist
For moving to OWNA or away from it. Your ticks save in this browser.
- Check the new product is registered for your service type on the Department's list.
- Register a PRODA device for the new software.
- Time the cut-over around the weekly session reports, and turn off automatic submission in the old system.
- Tell Inclusion Support you're changing software.
- Carry over enrolments and complying written arrangements; OWNA suggests families re-do enrolment forms.
- Data in: Excel or CSV only, one booking pattern per child; documents won't bulk import.
- Data out: export everything before you leave and keep it for as long as the records rules require.
- Payments: apply for the merchant account early (it can take two weeks) and have families sign new direct debit requests.
- Website: replace old enquiry, waitlist and enrolment links with the new form links, and add tour slots.
- Families: send app invites, and tell them their username may not be their email and that the centre is their support.
- Devices: set up the sign-in kiosk on a centre device and stop staff checking in on their own phones.
- Privacy: update your privacy policy and collect the written consents OWNA's terms require.
- Contract: choose monthly or annual knowingly, diary the notice dates, and get the GST basis and term type in writing.
My view
For a long day care centre or OSHC service, OWNA is good value on paper: a published per-centre price, the subsidy, programming, rostering and an optional payroll add-on in one place. Its weak spots are a terms document that's less relaxed than its pricing page, a mixed app reputation with families, and no family day care registration. Trial it, get the GST basis and term type in writing, and price in the payment fees. Then put the enquiry and tour form on your own website, because that's where families decide.
Questions I get asked
How do I log in to OWNA?
Use the OWNA Childcare App or the web portal at portal.owna.com.au. Your username may not be your email address. Your centre sends the invite and handles support.
How much does OWNA cost?
Premium, with the Child Care Subsidy, is $149 to $249 a month per centre by number of children, or $139 to $239 a month billed annually. Lite, without the subsidy, starts at $99.
Does OWNA work for family day care?
OWNA advertises a family day care option, but the Department's registered software list shows OWNA for long day care and OSHC only.
Is OWNA Australian?
Yes. It's made by OWNA Corp Pty Ltd in Bella Vista, NSW, and also owns Kidsoft, Kangarootime Australia, smartcentral and Kindyhub.
Can I get my data out of OWNA?
Yes. Its terms allow a free export for up to 36 months after you leave, in OWNA's format. Export everything before you go.
About this guide
Written by Joseph Alzein, founder of bdog. bdog builds childcare centre websites and has no relationship with OWNA or any vendor here. Prices, features and terms were read from OWNA's own site, help centre and terms; registration from the Department of Education's list; ratings from the app stores. Sources were checked on 13 October 2026. Prices change, so check before you sign. This is general information, not legal advice.
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