All parents know that children cost an extraordinary amount.
Such questions are important for a range of social policy areas, including the setting of child maintenance payments. Richard Percival, Ann Harding and Professor Peter McDonald recently completed a study for the Department of Social Security on the costs of children in higher income families. The study used the Espendshade methodology and found that average costs varied according to the age of the child, the income level of the parents and the number of children in the family. The study will be published by the department later this year. The new model allows the department to examine the distributional and revenue impact of changes to Childcare Assistance and the Childcare Cash Rebate.