Australia · https://decisionscalc.com/au/tools/cost-of-raising-a-child-calculator/
Cost of Raising a Child in Australia
A year-by-year estimate from birth to 18: everyday costs for each age band, childcare, an optional housing share, and, if you qualify, the official Family Tax Benefit Part A counted as income. Every default is sourced and dated below, and the result sits next to the most-cited estimate for Australia — it is our model, not an official cost.
Cost to age 18
Where the money goes
Year by year
The most-cited figure for Australia
AIFS / DSS Updated costs of children using Australian budget standards (2023): $140 a week (unemployed family) and $170 a week (low-paid family) per child. Status: official research, but a weekly low-income standard rather than a lifetime total. Lifetime totals quoted in the media range from about $159,000 to $548,000 and are to verify.
Published figures measure different things: some include housing and childcare, some stop at 17 or run to 21, some price a minimum standard and others average spending, and their prices come from different years. That is why we show it next to your result rather than as "the" cost.
What the defaults are built from
- Everyday costs (food, clothing, activities, transport, health and the rest, excluding housing and childcare): Our estimate based on the Australian Institute of Family Studies budget standards (2023): $170 a week per child for a low-paid family ($140 for an unemployed family), spread across the age bands.
- Childcare: Default is an average long day care fee of $134.99 a day before subsidy (Care for Kids, industry data; to verify), for 260 days. The Child Care Subsidy can cover up to 90% depending on family income; enter your subsidy percentage.
- Housing: Our assumption: an extra bedroom's share of rent, taken as 15% of a capital-city rent of about $600 a week. Off by default because the AIFS budget standards may already include a housing share (to verify).
- Family Tax Benefit Part A: Family Tax Benefit Part A maximum rate is $235.48 a fortnight per child aged 0 to 12 and $306.46 for 13 to 19 (from 1 July 2026). It is means-tested on family income, so most families receive less than the maximum.
| Age band | Everyday cost per child per year (our estimate) |
|---|---|
| Ages 0–4 | $7,330 |
| Ages 5–11 | $8,620 |
| Ages 12–17 | $10,350 |
| Ages | Family Tax Benefit Part A, eldest (per year) | Each additional child |
|---|---|---|
| 0–12 | $6,122 | $6,122 |
| 13–17 | $7,968 | $7,968 |
How the estimate works
For each year of the child's life the calculator adds the everyday cost for that age band (scaled by the cost level), childcare for the pre-school years you choose, and the housing share if you switch it on, then takes off the Family Tax Benefit Part A for that age. Each year is raised by the inflation rate from today, so the total is in the money of the years it is spent; the line beneath it gives the same total in today's money.
Three simplifications matter. More than one child is modelled side by side, each from birth, with no discount for hand-me-downs or shared rooms. Childcare stops when school starts, so after-school and holiday care are not included. And the benefit is counted at its maximum rate, which income tests reduce or remove for many families.
The levers that move the total
Childcare is the line that swings most: a few years of full-time care at market prices can rival everything else in the first decade, and subsidies or funded hours change it more than any other single choice. After that, the teenage years cost the most in everyday spending. Housing depends on whether a child actually changes where you live — if you already have the room, switch it off.
For the first year in detail, use the baby cost planner; for what comes after 18, the college cost calculator.
Compare two scenarios
Snapshot your current numbers, change any input, then snapshot again to see the difference side by side.
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| Metric | Scenario A | Scenario B | Difference |
|---|
What changes in Australia
- The Child Care Subsidy is paid to the provider, so you only ever see the gap fee. From January 2026 the 3 Day Guarantee gives most families at least 72 subsidised hours a fortnight regardless of activity.
- Family Tax Benefit is paid fortnightly or as a lump sum after the tax year and is reconciled against actual income, so an estimate that turns out too low can create a debt to repay.
- The most-cited Australian figures are budget standards for low-income families from the Australian Institute of Family Studies, not average spending. Commercial lifetime estimates vary several-fold because they use different ages and lifestyles.
- Public schooling is free of tuition, but voluntary contributions, uniforms, camps and devices add up, and private schooling changes the teenage years' cost more than any other single choice.
Data reference (Australia): Everyday costs: our estimate based on AIFS / DSS Updated costs of children using Australian budget standards (2023), $170/wk per child (low-paid family). Childcare: average long day care $134.99/day before subsidy (Care for Kids; to verify). Housing (off by default): our assumption of 15% of a ~$600/wk capital-city rent. Family Tax Benefit Part A maximum $235.48 per fortnight aged 0-12, $306.46 aged 13-19 (DSS rates from 1 July 2026) · figures as of 2026-10 · Family Tax Benefit Part A rates checked against Services Australia on 2026-10-29; the spending bands, childcare and housing lines are our estimate based on the named sources, not individually verified. General information, not advice.. See our methodology for how every figure is sourced and dated.