I'm curious... is this because birth rates are declining in Australia and so this is an incentive? I know there are some countries in Western Europe that are having problems maintaining their population so just wondering if that's the reason behind the bonus??

Obviously, we don't get a thing in the US! But, if I did, I would probably put 1/2 into a savings fund for the baby and the other 1/2 towards any expenses - whether they be for that child or our family in general.

Girl4Me:

Just wondering if you have twins do you get $10,000?

yep twins its $10000 triplets $15000 etc

Girl4Me:

The sad thing is in the US people would be having babies for the money and not the baby

oh dont worry some people here are doing the same thing but really if i didnt want another baby no one could pay me all the money in the world to have one, $5000 is alot but when you think about the costs of raising a child in the long run its not much (but better then nothing!!)

girls2mama:

I'm curious... is this because birth rates are declining in Australia and so this is an incentive? I know there are some countries in Western Europe that are having problems maintaining their population so just wondering if that's the reason behind the bonus??

yes if i remember correctly this is the reason

alot of people started complaining about it because of some of the 16 year olds having babies for the money dont get me wrong it could be any age but they done a story on it and this girl admitted it!!!

im curious about what you ladies do get in the US here we have centrelink for people who dont work single mothers or couples on low wages a single mother with 3 children who is not working gets approx $1200 every 2weeks

also do you have to pay everytime you see a dr? here we dont have to.

we get approx 4 weeks of payed holidays 8 days paid sick leave

just curious do you have any type of benifits over there?

If you have a baby in the US you dont get anything.  You can get food, medical, energy assistance ect. if you qualify. To qualify you have to make such little money it's not worth working or you will be a part of the hundreds of thousands 'working poor' who cant afford good food or get their child to see the doctor when they are sick and a well check-up is out of the question if you are poor.  Our health care is almost completely in the hands of our employer and you only get paid time off if your employer offers it.  It sucks but I guess that is waht keeps our taxes low I would feel better knowing a few extra taxes will be paid to make sure my kids aren't going to school w/ other sick kids!!!!  IMO adults are one thing but kids desserve FREE health care!

Girl4Me:

IMO adults are one thing but kids desserve FREE health care!

I 100% agree! I think that children should have free access to healthcare services. I would be very sad if I could not give my kids the healthcare that they needed. 

I feel we are taxed very heavily here in Australia and that is one reason why I don't feel bad about accessing some of the benefits/services offered.

chooks**boys:

I feel we are taxed very heavily here in Australia and that is one reason why I don't feel bad about accessing some of the benefits/services offered

i agree with you my DH got taxed $10000 and only got back $200!!! also since the gst has come in its gotten out of hand i went to woolies to get a couple of things and it ended up costing me $90!!!! i spend on average $400-$500 a week on groceries

Wow! now I want to move to Australia!

Hi, I have it all planned i'm going to buy a video camera (my old one broke) an outdoor dining set and i need a new desk i already have everything for the baby so it's all for me lol it is called maternity allowance afterall.