How Much Does a Baby Cost in Australia? Your First-Year Budget Calculator

The first year typically costs between $3,000 and $13,000 AUD depending on your choices. Our calculator breaks that down into one-off gear (pram, car seat, cot, high chair, bouncer, monitor — from roughly $1,500 for a budget setup to $5,500+ for premium), accessories, and recurring everyday costs (nappies, wipes, feeding, solids, clothes — roughly $2,300–$4,200 for the year). Westpac estimates the average cost of having a baby at about $7,918 per year; Kin puts the first year at $3,000–$13,000. US-based calculators quote higher because they include healthcare and childcare, which Medicare and the Child Care Subsidy change materially in Australia. Hospital birth, childcare, and insurance are not included in our calculator.

Budget $500–$900 for nappies (about 7 per day, or ~2,600 for the year — Westpac budgets up to 3,000) and $0 for breastfeeding, $780–$1,300 for mixed feeding, or $1,300–$2,080 for formula-only feeding over 52 weeks. Wipes add roughly $300–$520. These are mid-tier to premium Australian retail estimates you can adjust in the calculator.

Aim to have your one-off gear budget saved before the birth — a typical new setup costs $1,500–$5,500 AUD — plus a buffer for unexpected items. Enter your total first-year budget and due date in the calculator and it will tell you exactly how much to save per month to get there. Moneysmart.gov.au also has free budget guidance and government-support information.

Yes on both counts. Second-hand marketplaces like Facebook Marketplace typically sell premium prams, cots and high chairs at 40–60% off retail, and reusing gear for a second child roughly halves the effective gear cost per child (premium items in good condition also resell at 30–50% of their new price). The one exception is car seats: always buy them new and never reuse a seat after a crash or its expiry date. Toggle 'Planning a second child?' and the resale slider in the calculator to see your per-child economics.

Infant capsules (birth–12 months, $379 – $499) offer the convenience of clicking the capsule in and out of the car without waking the baby, plus compatibility with pram travel systems. Convertible seats (birth–4 or birth–8 years, $239 – $799.99) are a single purchase that lasts much longer. If you choose a capsule, budget an additional $239 – $799.99 for a convertible car seat when your baby outgrows the capsule at around 12 months — the calculator adds this automatically.

A mid-tier disposable nappy costs about $0.20–$0.35 each in Australia (a box of 100–150 mid-range nappies runs roughly $20–$40; premium brands like Huggies cost more). At 7 nappies a day, that's about $510–$895 for the first year. Cloth nappies are a cheaper long-run option if you're happy to do the laundry.

Prams are typically the most expensive single item ($569 – $1,699 AUD), followed by car seats ($239 – $799.99) and cots ($599 – $1,579). Smart-nursery tech like the SNOO bassinet ($1,995) can be the priciest item if you choose to include it.

The calculator adds one-off gear (selected from 29 products with live Australian retailer prices) plus optional accessories, then adds recurring year-1 costs (nappies, wipes, feeding style, solids, clothes). It then applies your choices for resale value and second-child reuse to show the effective per-child cost. Prices show the current lowest–highest range from Baby Bunting, The Memo, Amazon AU and manufacturer stores.

Prices are sourced from Australian retailers including Baby Bunting, The Memo, Amazon AU, and manufacturer-direct stores as of September 2026, and are auto-refreshed on every weekly price check. Actual prices vary by colour, retailer promotions, and bundle deals. We show the lowest and highest currently available price for each product so you can budget realistically.