The cost of raising children in Australia

It takes a village...and a hefty savings account

Having children is a life-changing and joyous experience for most parents, but it also comes with added expenses that can push the budgets of even the savviest savers.

According to Finder's Parenting Report 2026, which surveyed 1,008 Australian parents with kids under 13, families are now spending an average of $8,472 a year raising each child and that's before you factor in one-off costs like pregnancy, education fees or driving lessons.

What is the cost of raising a child in Australia?

The most reliable, up-to-date answer comes from Finder's own 2026 Parenting Report, which surveyed over 1,000 Australian parents about what they actually spend. The research found the average annual spend per child is $8,472, across seven main categories: food, childcare, clothing, sports, health, school excursions and tutoring. That figure includes families who reported $0 in a category, so it's a genuine whole-of-population average, not just what higher-spending families report.

Older estimates are worth knowing for context, even though they're no longer directly comparable. A 2018 study by the Australian Institute of Family Studies (AIFS) found it cost low-paid families around $170 a week to raise a 6-year-old girl and a 10-year-old boy, roughly $8,840 a year, or $159,120 over 18 years, per child. That research hasn't been updated since, and its category breakdown doesn't map onto the newer Finder data, so we can't offer an honest "then vs now" comparison, but it does show how sharply family budgets have been squeezed by cost-of-living pressures in the years since.

The cost of raising kids

Our research found that the total average annual spend per child was $8,472, across seven main categories: food, childcare, clothing, sports, health, school excursions and tutoring.

Food is the single biggest line item at $3,305 per year, followed by childcare ($1,754).

Food is by far the single biggest line item, followed by childcare. Together, these two categories make up close to 60% of the average family's annual per-child spend.

Money-saving tips for parents

The good news is there are practical ways to bring some of these costs down. A few strategies worth trying:

• Hunt your "money leaks". Pull up a recent bank statement and look for every small, habitual purchase, subscriptions, takeaway coffees, app purchases. These add up faster than most parents realise, with some families bleeding up to $2,000 a year without noticing.
• Keep a "grab bag" in the car. Stock it with snacks, small toys and activities to avoid impulse buys at servos, cafes and shopping centre check-outs when kids get restless.
• Shop online rather than in-store for groceries. Doing the weekly shop online, rather than in person with kids in tow, makes it easier to skip end-of-aisle specials and avoid the inevitable checkout pestering.

Knowing exactly where your money is already going is also the first step in working out how much of a financial safety net your family needs, which is where insurance comes in.

What are families going without?

It's not just about the dollar figure. Finder's 2026 Parenting Report found that 40% of parents say their child has gone without at least one good or experience because of cost, up slightly from 39% in 2021. Encouragingly, fewer families are going without food: 7% of parents said their child had gone without food due to cost, down from 8% in 2021.
When asked what their kids are missing out on, parents pointed to:

The gap between higher and lower income families is stark: households earning under $50,000 are more than twice as likely to be making serious sacrifices as those earning $200,000 or more. It's a reminder that the cost of raising kids doesn't land evenly and that having a financial safety net in place matters most for the families with the least room to move.

Why is it important to know the cost of raising a child?

If you understand the cost of raising a child, you can make important decisions in advance. You can start saving, create a support network, develop a budget and find affordable housing.
Anne Hollonds is the director of the Australian Institute of Family Studies. She said the cost of raising a child has long been of interest to potential parents, adding:

Understanding the potential cost of having kids also allows you to put an appropriate financial safety net in place. For example, life insurance or income protection insurance, which guarantee a wage if you become too sick or injured to work.

How can insurance help with the cost of raising kids?

Insurance can give your family an important safety net in case anything goes wrong. If you die or become too sick to work, life insurance and income protection mean the difference between falling behind on the mortgage or having enough money to pay for the best healthcare. Here's a summary of how they can help:

• Life insurance pays a lump sum if you're diagnosed with a terminal illness or if you die. The money can be used for whatever your loved ones like, whether that's paying off the mortgage, covering school fees or keeping on top of everyday expenses.

• Income protection insurance replaces up to 75% of your regular income if you ever become too sick or injured to work. Again, you can use it for whatever you like but it means you can focus on getting better rather than worrying about paying the bills.

We've put together a list of all the life insurance and income protection providers available on Finder. Click through for a personalised life or income protection quote. Not sure which one you need? Our life insurance vs income protection guide can help.

How much does pregnancy cost?

Out-of-pocket pregnancy costs have been climbing. According to Finder's Parenting Report 2026, only 21% of parents paid nothing out of pocket for their entire pregnancy, a sharp fall from 36% in Finder's 2021 report.
Where families give birth is shifting too. 64% of parents gave birth via the public system in 2026, down from 69% in 2021, while 36% went private, up from 28%. Looking ahead, 39% said they'd choose private care next time, up from 32%, a sign that more families are willing to pay for choice and continuity of care, even as costs rise.

How much does childcare cost?

Data from Care for Kids show that the average cost of childcare in Australia is now around $144 a day, before subsidies, up from $134.99 previously, an increase of roughly 4.6% year-on-year. That's easily going to be the most expensive outgoing for lots of parents.

However, the price can vary significantly depending on where you are. In Sydney, families can expect to pay anywhere from $150 to $210 a day before subsidy. Nationally, prices for centre-based long day care typically range from $70 to $200 a day depending on the provider and location, a swing of up to $50 a day between cities, so it's worth checking rates for your specific area rather than relying on a single national number.
To put the cost of childcare into perspective, an average-earning Australian couple with 2 young children is likely to spend around 15% of their income on full-time childcare costs based on data from the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD).

The cost of raising a child can be more complicated

It's easy to spend more than these averages suggest, especially for families who don't fit neatly into a single income bracket. Individual circumstances, location, number of children, health needs and existing debt can all push actual costs well above (or, in some cases, below) the averages reported here.
You also have to take into account the economic impact of taking time off work – either for parental leave, to raise your children for a few years or even just turning down overtime hours.

A 2023 report by the University of South Australia's Centre for Workplace Excellence found that 34% of parents who took parental leave returned to their job with lower status or less responsibility. 44% of parents missed out on training opportunities and/or opportunities for promotion.
The same report found that 46% of mothers were asked to do work below their level of competence while pregnant, and 23% received hints or signals from others that they should quit their job. Finder's 2026 Parenting Report points to a similar story from a different angle (see "How much does pregnancy cost?" above), together, they suggest the career cost of having kids hasn't eased since these findings were first published.

Non-monetary costs of having a child

Of course, money isn't the only thing you'll have to part with if you decide to have children. Social engagements, spare time and even career ambitions can all be impacted.

Finder surveyed 1,033 parents in 2021 and found that one big impact on parents is how much time they spend driving their children around. Parents spend 3.5 hours per week on average driving their kids to school and other activities.

You might also have to make some changes to your career once you have kids, as 29% of survey respondents switched to part-time employment after giving birth. Finder's 2026 Parenting Report didn't re-ask these specific questions, so these figures are the most recent available, though the 2026 parental leave career-impact data above suggests the broader trend hasn't reversed.