Childcare costs
Childcare costs peak in these years. The Child Care Subsidy offsets part, depending on income.
SourceServices Australia
Khaki row · ages 32 to 41
Childcare costs peak in these years. The Child Care Subsidy offsets part, depending on income.
Often part-time at first, which affects super and pay progression.
A bigger or second car adds loan, insurance and running costs.
Usually the single largest regular expense.
Check balances, consolidate accounts and look at fees.
Search these names on the department sites below. Links go to each department's home page.
Figures from published research for the age groups that cover 34–35. Sources often publish wider age groups, so the group shown is the one that includes these ages. They describe groups of people, not any one person. Checked 23 October 2026.
Calendar year 2025. Top two scam types by total loss among reports that included a loss. Unreported scams are not counted.
Income for July 2020 to June 2021. Census 2021 linked with tax and payment records. The ABS cautions that incomes for older age groups are likely under-recorded.
30 June 2024. Per account, not per person, because many people hold more than one account. Median is the middle account; average is pulled up by large balances.
2019–20 financial year. By age of the household's reference person, as shown in the ABS graph. The ABS page does not say whether the values are averages or medians, so treat them as indicative.
2019–20. Share of all recent first home buyers in this age group (age of the household reference person). It is not the share of the age group who buy.
Census 2021. Owners with and without a mortgage combined.
Census 2021. Share of people in the age group who lived alone.
2024. Births per 1,000 women in the age group.
2024. All births, not only first births.
2025. Covers all marriages, not only first marriages.
2022. Share of people in the age group who provide informal care. About 11.9% of all Australians living in households (3.0 million) were carers.
2022. Share of people in the age group with disability. Overall 21.4% of Australians (5.5 million) had disability in 2022.
Dollar figures are in the dollars of the year shown. Average and median are not the same: the median is the middle value. Not financial advice.
Illustrative gross incomes: lower about $50,000, middle about $100,000, higher about $200,000 a year. For ages under 18, read these as household incomes. For retirement ages, read them as lower, middle and higher income and savings. They are examples, not official brackets.
Childcare can cost nearly as much as one wage, so the subsidy and work hours need careful planning.
Two incomes cover childcare and a mortgage, but there is little left over. Taking a break from work is a real trade-off.
Childcare, nanny or private options are affordable. Extra mortgage repayments and investing continue.