This paper analyses the effect of family benefits on childbearing decisions using an intertemporal utility maximising framework, in which the childbirth decisions of households are planned jointly with decisions about life cycle consumption. The model is calibrated using data for Australia drawn, where possible, from the HILDA Wave 7 survey. The simulations suggest that changes in family benefits are likely to have both timing and quantum effects on childbirth but of a small magnitude. This result tends to support findings using alternative empirical approaches. The results also suggest that measures to reduce the time mothers spend out of the workforce while caring for children, such as improvements to child care availability, are likely to be more efficient in boosting fertility than increases in family benefits.