How will these changes affect you? In the short term, not at all. They wonât affect anyone until July 2022. After that, some families will see great benefit. But our analysis suggests the policy package wonât do much to improve the affordability of childcare for many families on low to middle incomes. Nor will it do anything to address systemic problems. Defining affordability A lot of the discussion on childcare affordability focuses on per-hour costs and anecdotal evidence based on individual familiesâ circumstances. Familiesâ lived experiences are important, as are average out-of-pocket fees. But without understanding what affordability means, itâs very difficult to pin down how much of an issue childcare affordability actually is.