From parenting classes to cot construction, redecorating to reading, the months leading up to a new baby’s arrival are jam-packed with things to do. The admin stuff often gets left till last.

Here’s our checklist of the must-dos from a paperwork perspective.

1. Update private health insurance

Contact your private health insurer to add your child to your private health cover, to ensure your little one is covered from day one.  

2. Waiting list for daycare

Be proactive about childcare. Some childcare and Family Day Care facilities have long waiting lists, so if you’re planning on sending your bub before he or she is crawling, it’s a good idea to get on a waiting list before they’re even born.   

3. Waiting list for school 

If you’re thinking of sending your child to private school, get their name down as soon as possible. With anecdotal evidence¹ suggesting if you don’t have your child’s name on a waiting list by the time they’re six months old you’ve left it too late, time could be of the essence. 

4. Register the birth 

Once your baby is born, you have to register the birth with the Department of Births, Deaths and Marriages in your state. You have 60 days to register the birth in NSW, VIC, SA, TAS, WA and NT and six months to do so in ACT². Your hospital will give you a Parent Pack, which includes the forms you need, including a Newborn Child Declaration. In some states you can also register the birth online. 

5. Register for Medicare and Centrelink

Once the birth is registered, you need to let Medicare and Centrelink know about your new arrival, so your baby can receive medical care and you can receive any benefits you may be entitled to. Your child will also need to be added to your Medicare safety net. You can register your child too for My Health Record and the Australian Immunisation Register. 

6. Apply for Paid Parental Leave and Dad and Partner Pay

 Once your child’s birth is registered, you and your partner can apply for Paid Parental Leave or Dad and Partner Pay, which is dependent on your personal and financial circumstances.  

7. Update life insurance 

The arrival of a new addition to the family gives reason to review your life insurance policy. How much would you need to leave if you were to die? How much would you need to cope as a family if you were to be seriously injured? 

8. Explore other insurances

If your child became critically ill, would you be able to financially cope if you were unable to work? Or could you afford long-term care for them? As unappealing as these things are to consider, it’s a consideration that’s necessary. 

9. Update your will

After your baby arrives it’s smart to update your will if you have one – or make one, if you don’t! As well as naming your baby as a beneficiary if you were to die, you can also name the people who you’d want to be their legal guardians should the unthinkable happen. 

10.  Set up a savings plan 

Private education costs for a baby born in 2018 are estimated to be close to half a million dollars³, while if you put your kids through the public system you’ll still be facing a total bill of over $65,000. And that’s without taking university into account. 

References

1. http://www.abc.net.au/news/2017-09-14/parents-are-using-education-consultants-high-school/8945878
2. https://www.accesscanberra.act.gov.au/app/answers/detail/a_id/1693/kw/registering%20a%20birth#!tabs-2
3. https://www.asg.com.au/doc/default-source/2018-asg-planning-for-education-index/asg_edcosts_childborn_-2018_nat_metro.pdf?sfvrsn=2

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