Having a Baby
Exciting, joyous and maybe just a little bit overwhelming? One thing is for sure – welcoming a baby to the family is a game changer. When it comes to managing your finances, we’re here to help.
Having a baby – our video about what you should expect. Watch the video here
What you should expect
You’ve got to think of names, work out a birth plan, learn to change nappies, and on top of all that you’ve got to consider how to cover the cost of having a baby. See our FAQs for more.
What’s involved throughout the process
Help from your partner, family and friends is important. There are also support services offered by the Government, and we want to help in any way we can too. Whether you’re planning, pregnant or have had your baby, our resources aim to help you navigate this period. We can also help you manage your mortgage during this exciting time with our Parental Leave Options Checklist. Download the Checklist (PDF 73KB)
Cost of having a baby
We also want to celebrate your new family member by lending a hand. While babies need a LOT of nappies, they don’t need designer clothes or fancy gadgets. Take advantage of our budgeting tool to work out what you can afford.
Family maternity leave
Discover all aspects of maternity and parental leave including your eligibility, entitlements, how to apply and more.
5 Tips for mums going back to work after a baby
Every working mum asks the million-dollar question after giving birth: are you ready to go back to work?
What are the costs of having a baby?
Every new parent asks themselves this question. You’ve got a little bundle of joy on the way, and you want to get your finances in order.
Frequently Asked Questions
A time of great excitement and probably a few uncertainties, having a baby can feel overwhelming. Various restrictions and unknowns imposed by the coronavirus pandemic, including testing positive and mask wearing during labour, are top of mind for new parents.
You may be keen to know the baby’s gender, especially if you’re planning a gender reveal party. Or, you want to understand the pros and cons of disposable and cloth nappies. You may also want to work out a birth plan. This is usually a written plan which describes what you would like to happen during labour and birth.
Childbirth is unpredictable, so your birth plan needs to be flexible. It’s also worth including in your plan a strategy for how you’ll manage, and stay on top of, the financial cost of having a baby.
Have you budgeted for a private hospital or public hospital? If your circumstances change or there is an emergency do you have the funds to cover any new costs. Following the birth, you may find you wish to stay home longer than you first thought. By including a budget in your birth plan, you can manage various financial outcomes.
Various fact sheets, including information covering the differences between a private and public hospital stay, are available on Australian government health services sites, as well as information on how health services, such as Medicare, can assist you.
Considering how you’re going to cover the cost of having a baby is an important step in preparing for pregnancy, birth and your ongoing role as new parents.
Preparing for your new baby doesn’t need to be overwhelming. As your obstetrician or treating health professionals will tell you, you’ll have about 40 weeks of antenatal planning time if all goes well.
Babies need a lot of nappies but not all at once. How can you best manage your family’s cash flow? One way is to establish your family budget, which can help you understand where you’re spending and where you can save for what’s ahead.
A budget accounts for what you’ve got coming in (your ‘incomings’) as well as any money going out, such as regular bills (your ‘outgoings’). If that sounds like hard work, our online budget planner may help ease the load. You can add a category to the budget planner, New Baby, where you can itemise costs such as which car seat to purchase or hire to meet Australian standards or what style of pram and cot you may need?
Your budget planner can help you work out what you can afford and what you need to save.
We can also help with managing mortgage payments while you’re on leave. The options may help with cash flow. Our Parental Leave Options Checklist includes information on Parental Leave Mortgage Repayment Reductions; Mortgage Repayment Pauses; Parental Leave Home Lending. You can download the PDF (PDF 73KB)
Understanding how you’re going to manage your household and financial situation is important, which is why having a conversation about the cost of having a baby helps everyone involved remain aware of what to expect.
You may want to talk through situations including:
- Managing everyday spending and saving.
- Your financial goals and priorities.
- What purchases you can put on hold.
- What debt you can pay off before the baby arrives.
We understand that money conversations can be difficult, which is why we’ve partnered with Interrelate, who are relationship experts, and put together our Sharing Finances quiz. Understand how you can work together financially to achieve what you both want.
There will be visits to health care professionals for check-ups, scans and tests. You need to consider where you will have your baby – private or public hospital or home - and how the labour and birth will be handled. Once your baby is born, you need to register the birth and register the baby for Medicare to access affordable health care. Here are some of the financial steps you may want to take to prepare for your new baby.
The Australian Federal Government offers payments to parents and families — some are one-off payments following the birth of a child while others are ongoing payments to support families or help with the cost of childcare.
Before your new baby arrives, check out your eligibility for government support services: Maternity & Parental Leave Pay; Dad & Partner Pay; Family Tax Benefit; Parenting Payment; Newborn payments.
You can register and submit a pre-birth claim for payments. Usually this can be done three months before the baby is due.
There are also various support payments, services and leave entitlements if you are adopting a child.
The Australian Government also provides support to grandparents, legal guardians and any other family member who provides full time care for a child.
Speak with your employer about leave entitlements. You can read more about parental leave and your entitlements here.
Put together a family budget and look at where you can reduce debts.
Here we’ve listed some cost-cutting strategies you may wish to consider:
- Talk to other parents and family members. They’re a great source of information on what you’ll need and use.
- Compare the cost of purchase to renting or borrowing items like prams or car seats.
- As your baby grows out of things think about selling them.
Prenatal care, also known as antenatal care, is about attending regular check-ups with health professionals, including your obstetrician, or midwives to treat and prevent potential health problems and ensure your chances of a healthy pregnancy and to promote healthy lifestyles that benefit both you and your newborn baby.
Postnatal care follows the birth of the baby and lasts for about 6 to 8 weeks. This is care aimed at ensuring both mother and baby and new parents thrive. Postnatal care can support you with any mental health issues you might experience, such as postnatal depression. It can also provide information to new parents on immunization, for example.