Skip to content
The Library · $99
Menu

Having a Baby in Australia: every step, every form, one calm guide

Medicare or private? GP shared care or midwifery group practice? Employer or Centrelink? Sixty days for what, exactly? Having a baby in Australia means learning a new vocabulary while you are tired, happy and a little overwhelmed. Having a Baby in Australia puts every step in one place, in the order you will need it, with each figure taken from Services Australia, the Australian Government's Pregnancy, Birth and Baby service and the state birth registries, and dated October 2026.

What is inside

About 8,600 words of text in a welcome and 14 chapters, plus 18 tables, 62 tick-box items and pages to fill in.

  1. Welcome. How to use the book, and a promise: plain words, official sources, no judgement.
  2. Your first steps. The first visit before 10 weeks, your Medicare card, and the private health insurance 12-month waiting period most people discover too late.
  3. Choosing your model of care. Public hospital, GP shared care, midwifery group practice, birth centre, homebirth, private obstetrician or private midwife, side by side, with what Medicare does and does not pay and the questions to ask before you sign.
  4. Antenatal appointments, tests and vaccines. The Australian timetable from first bloods to the group B strep swab, screening versus diagnostic tests, and the free flu, whooping cough and RSV vaccines.
  5. Your rights at work and unpaid parental leave. The 12 months, the extension to 24, the 10-week notice, flexible days, and a notice letter you can adapt.
  6. Parental Leave Pay, step by step. The 2026 rate and the 130 days, the partner's 20 reserved days, the income and work tests, employer or Centrelink, every deadline, the myGov claim path, superannuation, and a fill-in plan for both parents.
  7. Other payments. Newborn Upfront Payment and Newborn Supplement, Family Tax Benefit, Parenting Payment, Child Care Subsidy, no jab no pay, and the choices after a stillbirth.
  8. After the birth. Registering the birth state by state, the Newborn Child Declaration, Medicare and the immunisation register, and a paperwork checklist.
  9. Your baby's health checks. The child health nurse in every state, the Infant Health Record, the routine check ages, the first vaccines, and your own six-week check.
  10. When to call, and who to call. The official warning signs in pregnancy and after birth, and a table of 14 numbers, from 000 to PANDA.
  11. Special situations. Partners and co-parents, single mothers, same-sex couples, surrogacy and adoption, self-employed and casual workers, newly arrived residents, twins, loss, Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander families, rural and remote living.
  12. Month-by-month checklist. From the positive test to 8 weeks after the birth.
  13. Pages to fill in. Your care team, your key dates, your leave budget, your questions.
  14. Glossary and bibliography. Twenty-seven Australian pregnancy words explained, and every source with its web address.

Who it is for

  • You are pregnant in Australia and want one clear map instead of twenty government pages.
  • You recently moved to Australia and the system, the words and the forms are new to you.
  • You are a partner, a co-mother or a dad, and want to know your leave, your days and how to help.
  • You are planning a pregnancy and want to know about Medicare and private cover before you start.
  • You want to give a useful, thoughtful gift to someone expecting a baby in Australia.

What it is, and what it is not

This book explains what official Australian sources say, clearly and calmly, with checklists and pages to fill in. It is not medical, legal or financial advice. Your midwife, GP or obstetrician is the right person for your health questions, and Services Australia is the only body that can confirm your payments. Payment rates usually change on 1 July each year: the book tells you where to check.

All the essentials are also free on our Australia guide, including Parental Leave Pay 2026 and how to register a birth. The book brings them together, adds the planning pages, and is yours to print.

Instant PDF, with your name on the cover

The guide arrives as a PDF as soon as your payment goes through ($29), with a personalised cover. Read it on your phone or print the checklists and planning pages.