The Best Places for Pregnancy

The best Australian places cities for new and expecting parents

Last year, health insurance comparison service iSelect set out to find which parts of Australia offer the best support for new and expecting parents. This year, we’ve taken a fresh look at what can make a region a great place to start a family, using the latest available data and an expanded methodology.

Where you live can make a real difference when you’re starting a family, and things like childcare availability, costs and access to maternity services can all play a part. How easy is it to get a childcare place? What will it cost? And how far is the nearest maternity service? We looked at the latest available data to find out which regions offer the strongest all-round support for new and expecting parents in 2026.

We ranked every region across six factors: the proportion of children who are developmentally on track, the number of childcare places, the average cost of childcare, the performance of local healthcare, the average number of children born per woman, and access to birthing services, a new addition to the methodology this year that reflects the role maternity care can play when choosing where to start a family.

The best Australian regions for raising a child

Rank	Region	State	Early Childhood Development Avg % on Track	Childcare Availability Places per Child	Weekly Childcare Cost ($)	Childcare Cost (% of Income)	Healthcare Rating (/10)	Birthing Access Women Aged 15 to 49	Births per Woman	Index Score /100
1	Dural – Wisemans Ferry	New South Wales	79.8%	1.32	$490.77	31.1%	7.3	0.715	1.78	100.00
2	Leichhardt	New South Wales	85.0%	0.83	$581.06	26.2%	7.3	0.937	1.40	97.39
3	Stonnington – East	Victoria	87.4%	0.93	$554.97	29.3%	7.2	0.754	1.12	96.71
4	Manly	New South Wales	87.5%	0.67	$594.74	25.5%	7.3	0.883	1.29	96.54
5	South Canberra	Australian Capital Territory	77.2%	2.05	$577.31	25.0%	6.9	0.335	0.92	96.04
6	Prospect – Walkerville	South Australia	87.9%	1.01	$481.05	32.7%	6.9	0.515	1.20	94.56
7	Bayside	Victoria	88.4%	0.90	$550.17	29.5%	7.2	0.450	1.45	94.36
8	Pittwater	New South Wales	87.9%	0.63	$559.51	32.6%	7.3	0.479	1.85	92.67
9	Weston Creek	Australian Capital Territory	80.2%	0.84	$557.54	31.4%	6.9	0.546	1.68	92.47
10	Adelaide City	South Australia	84.7%	1.75	$465.74	35.4%	6.9	0.402	0.57	92.21

Key takeaways

Dural – Wisemans Ferry is Australia’s best region for new and expecting parents. The NSW region scored 100/100, ahead of Leichhardt (97.39), Stonnington – East (96.71), Manly (96.54) and South Canberra (96.04).
Birthing access makes a difference at the top. South Canberra has the most childcare places in the country (2.05 per child), but the lowest birthing access in the top 10 keeps it in fifth.
NSW dominates the leaderboard. It holds 14 of the top 30 spots, and eight of the 10 regions with the best birthing access are in Sydney.
Cheap childcare and affordable childcare aren’t always the same thing. Katherine has the lowest cost relative to income, at 20.6%. In Manly, Leichhardt and South Canberra, weekly fees are more than double Katherine’s, but higher incomes keep them to around a quarter of household income.
Capital cities lead the way. All 30 of the top 30 regions are in a capital city area, led by Sydney with 14 and Melbourne with seven. The highest-ranked region outside a capital is Mudgeeraba – Tallebudgera on the Gold Coast, in 47th.
Childcare remains a major expense. In the typical region, a week of centre-based care costs 39.7% of median household income before the Child Care Subsidy, and it’s more than half of household income in 24 regions, peaking at 66.2% in Maryborough, Queensland.

Dural – Wisemans Ferry, in Sydney’s north-west, takes the top spot this year with an index score of 100/100, and it’s the kind of all-rounder the index rewards. There are 1.32 childcare places per child, the third highest in the country. Its fertility rate of 1.78 births per woman is second only to Pittwater in the top 10. Birthing access is solid too, at 0.715 services per 1,000 women aged 15 to 49.

It’s a close race behind it. Leichhardt (97.39), Stonnington – East (96.71), Manly (96.54) and South Canberra (96.04) make up the rest of the top five, with less than four points between first and fifth. South Canberra has more childcare than anywhere else in Australia, at 2.05 places for every child, and families there spend 25% of household income on it. Birthing access is where Canberra falls short. Its rate of 0.335 services per 1,000 women is the lowest in the top 10.

The wider top 30 shows there’s more than one way to rank well. Adelaide City has the lowest fertility rate in the top 30, at 0.57 births per woman, but still comes 10th, helped by 1.75 childcare places per child. Manningham – East has the best birthing access in the country but ranks 16th once everything else is taken into account. By state, NSW has 14 regions in the top 30, Victoria has seven, and South Australia has five.

Regions in Australia with the highest child development rates

The early years can shape a child’s start in life. To see how children are tracking, the Australian Early Development Census looks at five areas: physical health, social skills, emotional wellbeing, language and communication.

Eastern Suburbs – North in Sydney comes out on top this year, with an average of 88.9% of children on track across all five factors. Noosa Hinterland is just behind at 88.8%, with Victoria’s Bayside third at 88.4%

The regions at the top don’t all get there in the same way. Bayside has the strongest physical health result at 91.9%, Noosa Hinterland leads for social skills at 89.8%, and Manly has the highest emotional wellbeing score at 89.0%. Eastern Suburbs – North leads for language at 95.1%, while Noosa Hinterland has the highest communication score at 90.3%.

The margins are small overall, with just 2.8 percentage points separating first and 10th. NSW, Victoria and Queensland have three regions each in the top 10, with South Australia represented by Prospect – Walkerville. Six of these regions also make the index’s overall top 30, but the top two don’t. Eastern Suburbs – North and Noosa Hinterland shine on development, but not by enough to make up for their results on the other factors.

Rank	Region	State	Health	Social	Emotional	Language	Communication	Avg % on Track
1	Eastern Suburbs – North	New South Wales	87.7%	85.6%	86.4%	95.1%	89.7%	88.9%
2	Noosa Hinterland	Queensland	87.1%	89.8%	85.5%	91.2%	90.3%	88.8%
3	Bayside	Victoria	91.9%	85.6%	82.8%	92.0%	89.3%	88.4%
4	Pittwater	New South Wales	89.1%	85.2%	83.8%	92.0%	89.6%	87.9%
5	Prospect – Walkerville	South Australia	91.2%	85.9%	87.0%	93.0%	82.4%	87.9%
6	Manly	New South Wales	84.7%	85.7%	89.0%	94.6%	83.3%	87.5%
7	Stonnington – East	Victoria	89.6%	81.5%	83.7%	93.0%	89.3%	87.4%
8	Brisbane Inner – East	Queensland	86.8%	84.7%	81.6%	91.4%	89.6%	86.8%
9	Essendon	Victoria	86.1%	85.5%	84.9%	90.9%	85.7%	86.6%
10	Sherwood – Indooroopilly	Queensland	85.7%	85.0%	81.8%	93.5%	84.6%	86.1%

regions with the most childcare availability

Finding a childcare place is often one of the first hurdles parents face when they return to work. South Canberra has the most to go around, with 2.05 approved places for every child aged 0 to 4.

Adelaide City is second at 1.75, followed by Dural – Wisemans Ferry at 1.32. After the top three, the field closes up. The rest of the top 10 sits between 1.20 and 1.01 places per child.

South Australia has three regions on the list, while NSW and the ACT have two each. Availability goes hand in hand with a strong overall ranking. Six of these regions also make the overall top 30, including Dural – Wisemans Ferry, South Canberra and Prospect – Walkerville.

Rank	Region	State	Places per Child
1	South Canberra	Australian Capital Territory	2.05
2	Adelaide City	South Australia	1.75
3	Dural – Wisemans Ferry	New South Wales	1.32
4	Sherwood – Indooroopilly	Queensland	1.20
5	Norwood – Payneham – St Peters	South Australia	1.09
6	Hobart Inner	Tasmania	1.07
7	Ku-ring-gai	New South Wales	1.06
8	North Canberra	Australian Capital Territory	1.02
9	Whitehorse – West	Victoria	1.01
10	Prospect – Walkerville	South Australia	1.01

Regions with the most affordable childcare

Availability is one thing, but a childcare place is only useful if a family can afford to take it. We ranked affordability by the share of household income that goes towards childcare, not just the weekly fee. Katherine in the Northern Territory comes out as the most affordable relative to income, with a weekly cost of $239.68, or 20.6% of median household income. Alice Springs has the next-lowest weekly cost at $362.07, but at 24.9% of household income, it ranks fifth.

Looking at cost relative to income changes the picture. East and West Pilbara are far from cheap, with weekly costs of $475.15 and $496.43, but high local incomes put both regions in the top three. The same is true in Sydney. Manly has the highest weekly cost on the list at $594.74, yet that works out to 25.5% of income. That’s a smaller share than Leichhardt (26.2%), where fees are slightly lower at $581.06. The Northern Territory and Western Australia have three regions each in the top 10. Three of the regions on this list, Leichhardt, Manly and South Canberra, also rank in the overall top five.

Rank	Region	State	Weekly Childcare Cost	% of Income
1	Katherine	Northern Territory	$239.68	20.6%
2	East Pilbara	Western Australia	$475.15	22.5%
3	West Pilbara	Western Australia	$496.43	22.6%
4	Cottesloe – Claremont	Western Australia	$496.43	24.6%
5	Alice Springs	Northern Territory	$362.07	24.9%
6	South Canberra	Australian Capital Territory	$577.31	25.0%
7	Manly	New South Wales	$594.74	25.5%
8	Leichhardt	New South Wales	$581.06	26.2%
9	Litchfield	Northern Territory	$420.33	26.2%
10	Hobart Inner	Tasmania	$371.47	26.7%

Regions with the highest fertility rates

For people looking to start a family, fertility rates offer a snapshot of where having children is more common, giving an indication of the areas with larger concentrations of families and children.

Bourke – Cobar – Coonamble has the highest fertility rate in Australia, at 2.98 births per woman. Lower Murray comes next at 2.55, followed by Inverell – Tenterfield and Moree – Narrabri at 2.47 each. Every region in the top 10 records more than 2.3 births per woman. The list is entirely regional, with seven NSW regions and three from Queensland, and none in or near a capital city. It’s a very different map to the overall rankings: none of these regions make the top 30, where Pittwater has the highest fertility rate of those regions at 1.85 births per woman.

Rank	Region	State	Births per Woman
1	Bourke – Cobar – Coonamble	New South Wales	2.98
2	Lower Murray	New South Wales	2.55
3	Inverell – Tenterfield	New South Wales	2.47
3	Moree – Narrabri	New South Wales	2.47
5	Kempsey – Nambucca	New South Wales	2.45
6	Far North	Queensland	2.43
7	Lachlan Valley	New South Wales	2.39
8	Darling Downs – East	Queensland	2.35
8	Darling Downs (West) – Maranoa	Queensland	2.35
10	Taree – Gloucester	New South Wales	2.32

Regions with the best birthing access

For this analysis, birthing access looks at how many nearby public hospitals offer maternity services, based on the number of women aged 15 to 49 living in the area. We counted hospitals within 30km of each region’s population centre, giving an indication of how easily local families can access a hospital that provides maternity care. Manningham – East has the highest birthing access rate, with 1.459 maternity services per 1,000 women aged 15 to 49. Pennant Hills – Epping follows at 0.982, while Leichhardt (0.937) and Manly (0.883) round out the top four.

The results are concentrated around Sydney and Melbourne, with eight of the top 10 regions located in Greater Sydney. Birthing access also features strongly among the overall leaders, with eight of these 10 regions appearing in the overall top 30. Dural – Wisemans Ferry, Leichhardt, Stonnington – East and Manly all rank in the overall top four, showing how access to maternity services contributes to a region’s position when considered alongside childcare, healthcare, child development and fertility.

Rank	Region	State	Services per 1,000 Women Aged 15 to 49
1	Manningham – East	Victoria	1.459
2	Pennant Hills – Epping	New South Wales	0.982
3	Leichhardt	New South Wales	0.937
4	Manly	New South Wales	0.883
5	Marrickville – Sydenham – Petersham	New South Wales	0.822
6	Carlingford	New South Wales	0.798
7	Stonnington – East	Victoria	0.754
8	Botany	New South Wales	0.724
9	Dural – Wisemans Ferry	New South Wales	0.715
10	Canada Bay	New South Wales	0.616

The best regions in each state for starting a family

Rank	Region	Avg % on Track	Places per Child	Weekly Childcare Cost	% of Income	Healthcare Rating (/10)	Services per 1,000 Women Aged 15 to 49	Births per Woman	Index Score /100
1	Dural – Wisemans Ferry	79.8%	1.32	$490.77	31.1%	7.3	0.715	1.78	100.00
2	Leichhardt	85.0%	0.83	$581.06	26.2%	7.3	0.937	1.40	97.39
3	Manly	87.5%	0.67	$594.74	25.5%	7.3	0.883	1.29	96.54
4	Pittwater	87.9%	0.63	$559.51	32.6%	7.3	0.479	1.85	92.67
5	Ku-ring-gai	82.3%	1.06	$573.19	28.5%	7.3	0.455	1.12	91.93

New South Wales

Dural – Wisemans Ferry leads NSW with a score of 100/100, ahead of Leichhardt (97.39) and Manly (96.54). The state’s top 10 is entirely made up of Sydney regions, ending with Pennant Hills – Epping in 10th. Dural – Wisemans Ferry gets there with a strong showing across several measures. It has the most childcare places (1.32) and the second-lowest weekly fees in the state’s top 10. Other regions lead on individual measures. Pittwater has the highest share of children developmentally on track (87.9%) and the highest fertility rate (1.85 births per woman). Pennant Hills – Epping has the best birthing access in the state at 0.982 services per 1,000 women aged 15 to 49, but also the lowest fertility rate in the top 10 at 1.01.

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Rank	Region	Avg % on Track	Places per Child	Weekly Childcare Cost	% of Income	Healthcare Rating (/10)	Services per 1,000 Women Aged 15 to 49	Births per Woman	Index Score /100
1	Stonnington – East	87.4%	0.93	$554.97	29.3%	7.2	0.754	1.12	96.71
2	Bayside	88.4%	0.90	$550.17	29.5%	7.2	0.450	1.45	94.36
3	Manningham – East	85.2%	0.67	$579.67	36.2%	7.2	1.459	1.50	90.44
4	Nillumbik – Kinglake	84.0%	0.73	$485.69	30.9%	7.2	0.423	1.79	89.56
5	Whitehorse – East	82.8%	0.90	$497.69	37.6%	7.2	0.598	1.16	89.44

Victoria

Stonnington – East is Victoria’s top region, scoring 96.71. Bayside is close behind on 94.36, with Manningham – East third at 90.44. All of the state’s top 10 are in Greater Melbourne, and seven of them make the national top 30.

Stonnington – East and Bayside have the lowest childcare costs as a share of income in the top five, at 29.3% and 29.5%. Manningham – East is one to watch. It ranks 16th nationally and third in Victoria, helped by the best birthing access rate in the country with 1.459 services per 1,000 women, alongside a solid fertility rate of 1.50 births per woman. Costs are a bigger issue further down the list. In 10th-placed Manningham – West, childcare takes up 39.9% of household income.

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Rank	Region	Avg % on Track	Places per Child	Weekly Childcare Cost	% of Income	Healthcare Rating (/10)	Services per 1,000 Women Aged 15 to 49	Births per Woman	Index Score /100
1	Kenmore – Brookfield – Moggill	84.7%	0.87	$530.25	29.5%	7.1	0.365	1.49	88.07
2	Centenary	79.4%	0.62	$530.25	34.0%	7.1	0.522	1.62	86.97
3	Brisbane Inner – East	86.8%	0.61	$587.63	30.5%	7.1	0.357	1.14	83.23
4	Sherwood – Indooroopilly	86.1%	1.20	$539.63	34.3%	7.1	0.268	0.86	82.87
5	Brisbane Inner – West	84.8%	0.88	$576.00	30.6%	7.1	0.310	1.04	82.78

Queensland

Kenmore – Brookfield – Moggill is Queensland’s top region, scoring 88.07. Centenary (86.97) and Brisbane Inner – East (83.23) come next, and Brisbane accounts for eight of the state’s top 10.

Kenmore – Brookfield – Moggill has the lowest childcare cost share in the state’s top five at 29.5%. For availability, Sherwood – Indooroopilly leads with 1.20 places per child, the fourth highest in the country. Outback – South is the outlier. It’s the only region outside the south-east corner to make the state’s top 10, and gets there with the highest fertility rate (2.17 births per woman) and lowest weekly childcare cost ($425.25) in QLD’s top 10.

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Rank	Region	Avg % on Track	Places per Child	Weekly Childcare Cost	% of Income	Healthcare Rating (/10)	Services per 1,000 Women Aged 15 to 49	Births per Woman	Index Score /100
1	Cottesloe – Claremont	86.1%	0.50	$496.43	24.6%	7.1	0.362	1.17	84.92
2	Fremantle	81.3%	0.52	$449.31	29.5%	7.1	0.473	1.17	84.60
3	Mundaring	78.8%	0.34	$436.85	34.0%	7.1	0.520	1.82	83.98
4	South Perth	79.7%	0.54	$483.06	30.2%	7.1	0.488	1.09	83.74
5	Kalamunda	78.0%	0.47	$430.16	33.2%	7.1	0.422	1.69	80.66

Western Australia

WA has the closest race of any state. Cottesloe – Claremont edges out Fremantle for first place by just 0.32 points, and only 1.18 points separate the top four. Cottesloe – Claremont has the highest share of children on track in the top 10 (86.1%) and the lowest childcare cost share (24.6%).

Childcare places are harder to find in WA. None of the state’s top five has more than 0.54 places per child, well below the national leaders. Across the state’s top 10, availability ranges from 0.60 places per child in Perth City to just 0.17 in Manjimup.

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Rank	Region	Avg % on Track	Places per Child	Weekly Childcare Cost	% of Income	Healthcare Rating (/10)	Services per 1,000 Women Aged 15 to 49	Births per Woman	Index Score /100
1	Prospect – Walkerville	87.9%	1.01	$481.05	32.7%	6.9	0.515	1.20	94.56
2	Adelaide City	84.7%	1.75	$465.74	35.4%	6.9	0.402	0.57	92.21
3	Norwood – Payneham – St Peters	83.9%	1.09	$462.55	35.1%	6.9	0.509	1.14	91.37
4	Unley	84.9%	0.79	$449.47	29.4%	6.9	0.519	1.11	91.37
5	Burnside	82.2%	0.79	$460.96	30.5%	6.9	0.479	1.14	87.69

South Australia

Prospect – Walkerville is South Australia’s top region this year, scoring 94.56. Adelaide City is second (92.21), with Norwood – Payneham – St Peters and Unley tied on 91.37. All of the top five score above 87, but the scores drop away quickly after that, and 10th-placed Gawler – Two Wells scores 71.87.

The leaders each have their own strengths. Adelaide City has the most childcare places at 1.75 per child, and Prospect – Walkerville has the highest share of children on track at 87.9%. Within the top 10, Mid North has the lowest weekly childcare cost at $335.91 and the highest fertility rate at 2.04 births per woman.

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Rank	Region	Avg % on Track	Places per Child	Weekly Childcare Cost	% of Income	Healthcare Rating (/10)	Services per 1,000 Women Aged 15 to 49	Births per Woman	Index Score /100
1	Hobart Inner	81.6%	1.07	$371.47	26.7%	6.6	0.068	0.82	72.34
2	Hobart – South and West	81.7%	0.28	$353.01	28.9%	6.6	0.120	1.37	66.44
3	Hobart – North East	77.2%	0.35	$385.67	32.5%	6.6	0.075	1.55	61.77
4	Sorell – Dodges Ferry	62.4%	0.39	$378.00	35.8%	6.6	0.246	1.78	60.56
5	North East	76.2%	0.16	$360.40	42.6%	6.6	0.140	1.86	58.11

Tasmania

Hobart Inner leads Tasmania with a score of 72.34/100, almost six points clear of Hobart – South and West (66.44). That’s the biggest gap between first and second of any state. It also has the state’s most childcare places (1.07 per child) and the lowest childcare cost share relative to income (26.7%).

Tasmania’s scores are lower across the board, partly due to its state-level healthcare score, which is the lowest in the country at 6.6, but also reflecting more limited access to birthing services and fewer childcare places. Within the state, the trade-offs are clear. North East has the highest fertility rate at 1.86 births per woman, compared with 0.82 in Hobart Inner, but childcare there takes up 42.6% of household income. Sorell – Dodges Ferry has the best birthing access in the state at 0.246 services per 1,000 women aged 15 to 49.

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Rank	Region	Avg % on Track	Places per Child	Weekly Childcare Cost	% of Income	Healthcare Rating (/10)	Services per 1,000 Women Aged 15 to 49	Births per Woman	Index Score /100
1	Darwin City	79.3%	0.60	$549.75	29.8%	7.3	0.112	1.02	68.05
2	Palmerston	71.3%	0.67	$514.95	33.2%	7.3	0.089	1.96	66.50
3	Litchfield	66.7%	0.64	$420.33	26.2%	7.3	0.000	2.00	63.44
4	Darwin Suburbs	67.4%	0.72	$500.09	33.1%	7.3	0.066	1.70	62.43
5	Katherine	48.4%	0.51	$239.68	20.6%	7.3	0.169	1.62	59.18
6	Alice Springs	56.3%	0.55	$362.07	24.9%	7.3	0.083	1.72	58.94

Northern Territory

Darwin City and Palmerston are closely matched at the top of the Northern Territory rankings, separated by just 1.55 points. Darwin City scores 68.05 to take first place, with Palmerston on 66.50, while Litchfield follows on 63.44. Darwin City also records the territory’s highest share of children developmentally on track at 79.3%. The NT’s results look quite different further down the table. Katherine has the lowest weekly childcare cost at $239.68 and the lowest cost share at 20.6%, but also the lowest early childhood development result, with just 48.4% of children on track. Birthing access is limited across the territory, with Katherine recording the highest rate at 0.169 services per 1,000 women aged 15 to 49, while Litchfield records zero.

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Rank	Region	Avg % on Track	Places per Child	Weekly Childcare Cost	% of Income	Healthcare Rating (/10)	Services per 1,000 Women Aged 15 to 49	Births per Woman	Index Score /100
1	South Canberra	77.2%	2.05	$577.31	25.0%	6.9	0.335	0.92	96.04
2	Weston Creek	80.2%	0.84	$557.54	31.4%	6.9	0.546	1.68	92.47
3	Woden Valley	75.2%	0.74	$544.92	28.9%	6.9	0.287	1.34	76.40
4	North Canberra	75.9%	1.02	$579.36	28.8%	6.9	0.131	0.85	70.90
5	Tuggeranong	70.6%	0.67	$549.69	32.9%	6.9	0.146	1.75	66.73
6	Gungahlin	71.2%	0.62	$552.08	30.9%	6.9	0.112	1.52	64.66
7	Belconnen	69.3%	0.72	$529.57	31.9%	6.9	0.102	1.41	63.24

Australian Capital Territory

South Canberra and Weston Creek are well ahead of the rest of the ACT, scoring 96.04 and 92.47. Both also feature in the national Top 10, ranking fifth and ninth. South Canberra has the highest childcare availability in Australia, with 2.05 places per child, as well as the territory’s lowest childcare cost share at 25.0%. Weston Creek, meanwhile, has the highest share of children developmentally on track at 80.2% and the strongest birthing access at 0.546 services per 1,000 women aged 15 to 49.

The gap widens after the top two, with Woden Valley in third at 76.40, more than 16 points behind Weston Creek. Tuggeranong, Gungahlin and Belconnen make up the bottom three, with between 69.3% and 71.2% of children developmentally on track.

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“There’s no single formula for what makes a region a good place to raise a family. This year’s research shows how different the picture can look depending on what matters most to a family, whether that’s affordable childcare, access to maternity services, healthcare quality or giving children the best possible start.

“For anyone thinking about where to start a family, these priorities can play an important role in deciding what matters most to them.

“Health insurance is one piece of that picture, and iSelect can help Australians compare a range of policies and providers.”

Andres Gutierrez

General Manager – Health at iSelect

About the data

The iSelect Pregnancy Places Index ranks 316 Australian regions on how well they support pregnancy and raising a young child, using six factors drawn from the latest government and national survey data.

How We Built the Index

Regions are ABS Statistical Area Level 3 (SA3) areas (2021 boundaries), which group regional cities and clusters of related suburbs and match the level at which childcare fees are published. Of the 340 SA3s with a resident population, the 316 with data for all six factors were ranked. The other 24, none of them among Australia’s 50 most populous, lack a published childcare fee, fertility rate or child development result.

Each factor was scored from 0 to 100 using min-max normalisation across the 316 regions, with childcare costs inverted so cheaper care scores higher. Quality of Healthcare was scored on its own 0 to 10 scale (a rating of 7.3 becomes 73), because the state ratings sit less than one point apart. Birthing Access was capped at the 95th percentile (0.546 services per 1,000 women), so the 16 regions at or above that level share the top score. The weighted scores were combined and rescaled so the top region scores 100.

Factors, Weightings and Sources

The five factors that directly shape a family’s experience carry 18 per cent each. Fertility rate carries 10 per cent because it shows where families are choosing to have children rather than measuring a service or outcome.

Factor	Weighting	Measure	Direction	Source
Early Childhood Development	18%	Average share of children developmentally on track across the five AEDC domains	Positive	Australian Early Development Census, 2024
Childcare Availability	18%	Approved childcare places per resident child aged 0 to 4	Positive	ACECQA National Quality Framework data, 1 July 2026; ABS Regional Population by Age and Sex, 30 June 2025
Childcare Costs	18%	Weekly cost of centre-based day care as a share of median household income	Negative	Department of Education Child Care Subsidy data, March quarter 2026; ABS Census 2021 household income; ABS Wage Price Index
Quality of Healthcare	18%	Patient rating of the healthcare system out of 10, by state and territory	Positive	Australian Healthcare Index, September 2025
Birthing Access (new in 2026)	18%	Public maternity services within reach per 1,000 women aged 15 to 49	Positive	AIHW MyHospitals, 2024-25; ABS Regional Population by Age and Sex, 30 June 2025
Fertility Rate	10%	Total fertility rate, births per woman	Positive	ABS Births, Australia 2024

Early childhood development: the average share of children developmentally on track across the five AEDC domains, assessed in their first year of school in 2024.
Childcare availability: approved places, excluding outside school hours care, per resident child aged 0 to 4.
Childcare costs: the average hourly fee for centre-based day care multiplied by the state’s average weekly hours of care, as a share of median household income (2021 Census, indexed to March 2026 with the Wage Price Index). Fees are before the Child Care Subsidy.
Quality of healthcare: a national survey of 8,286 Australians by Healthengine and Patients Australia, which publishes ratings by state and territory only, so every region takes its state’s score.
Birthing access (new in 2026): the 200 public hospitals that provide a maternity service, located in the region or within 30 km of its population-weighted centre, per 1,000 women aged 15 to 49.
Fertility rate: the ABS total fertility rate, published as a three-year average (2022 to 2024) below state level.

Limitations

Healthcare ratings measure patient satisfaction at state level, not clinical or maternity outcomes.
Birthing access counts public hospitals only, about four in five of the country’s birthing services. It uses straight-line distance and does not reflect hospital size.
Childcare is counted where services are located, so inner-city regions can show more places than their residents use.
Scores are relative to the regions in this edition and cannot be compared directly with 2025 scores.
Household income is from the 2021 Census, indexed by national wage growth, which assumes incomes grew at the same rate in every region.

A previous version of the story for 2025 is available to view here.

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