This paper presents the costs of raising children in Australia using the budget standards methodology. The work presented here is based upon and extends earlier costs of children research. Key elements of the data presented here are as follows.
- Estimates of the costs of raising children are not only provided as average Australian costs, but also as costs for each Australian capital city.
- Costs of raising children are presented for adult couple households, for sole parent households (with 100%, 80% and 50% care of the child), and for non-resident parents (with 80% and 50% care of the child).
The report begins with an overview of Australian costs of children research, and the relative merits of the different methodological approaches to estimating these costs. The report then explains how the cost estimates presented in this report have been calculated using the budget standards methodology. Section four discusses the main items of expenditure in each of the 10 components making up the costs of raising children. Section five, the key section reports the costs of children in couple households, in sole parent households, and for non-resident parents exercising regular contact or shared care. Costs are presented as gross costs, that is before receipt of relevant government benefits. They are also presented in annual dollar amounts (for the June quarter 2004) and as a percentage of household disposable and taxable incomes.