Somewhere around the 20-week scan, the questions start. "What do you need?" "Have you got a list?" "Can a few of us go in on the pram?" A baby registry is the answer to all three, and setting one up in Australia takes an evening, not a weekend.
This guide walks through it in order: choosing where to host the list, deciding what goes on it, adding items from any shop you like, setting up group gifts and gift cards so the big-ticket things get covered, and sharing the link without feeling like you are handing out an invoice. If you want the etiquette side, how to share it and how to thank people, our baby shower registry etiquette guide covers that. If you want the list itself, start with what to put on a baby registry.
Step 1: Decide where the registry lives
There are three broad options in Australia.
A single-store registry. Baby Bunting, Amazon Australia, David Jones, The Memo and others all run their own. Guests buy from that shop, and the shop ships to you. Simple, but everything has to come from one catalogue, and you are stuck with that store's prices and stock. Our best baby registry in Australia comparison goes through each one.
A universal registry. One list, items from anywhere. On EasyRegistry you add the exact pram from the shop that has it on sale, the cot from a different retailer, and the nappy subscription from a third. Guests contribute money towards each item, the total lands in your bank account, and you buy the things yourself. That last part matters: you keep control of colour, model and timing, and nothing arrives twice.
A cash fund or wishing well only. No items at all, just a note saying what the money is for. This suits second babies and parents who have already bought the big things. A baby shower wishing well can also sit alongside a normal item list rather than replacing it.
Most first-time parents in Australia land on a universal registry with one or two cash funds mixed in, because it gives guests a choice between buying a thing and chipping in.
Step 2: Set the registry up
On EasyRegistry this is the bit people are surprised by, because it takes a few minutes.
- Create a free account and choose "baby shower" as the occasion. Creating and sharing a registry is free. Every registry starts on a Premium trial, which ends after 14 days, when your first gift payment arrives, or a week before the shower, whichever comes first. If you want to keep accepting card and PayPal payments after that, Premium is a one-off AU$39 for the registry. Bank transfer, PayID, cash and Revolut contributions are free to receive on any plan. The pricing page has the full comparison.
- Pick your URL. You choose the address, so make it something you can say out loud to your mum: your surnames or the baby's nickname work well.
- Add a short welcome note. Three or four lines is plenty. Thank people for coming, say the list is a guide rather than a set of orders, and mention if you would rather have contributions towards the big items than lots of small gifts.
- Add a cover photo if you like. The scan picture, the two of you, or the nursery in progress all work. (A cover image is a Premium feature, so it is on during the trial.)
- Set up your payment details. Add your bank details or PayID so bank transfers land in your account directly. Turn on card payments if you want guests who prefer to tap and go.
You can keep editing everything after the registry is live, and you can unpublish it for a day if you want to rework the list without guests seeing a half-finished page.
Step 3: Add gifts from any store
Start with the things you have already researched. If you have spent three weekends choosing a pram, that pram goes on first, with the exact model and colour in the description.
Adding an item. Paste the product link from any Australian retailer, add a photo and a price, and write a line or two about why it is on the list. If you use Chrome, the Add to EasyRegistry button pulls the details across from the shop page in one click.
Descriptions do the work. "Fitted cot sheets, any neutral colour, we have a standard 1320 x 700 cot" saves five messages later. "Newborn wraps, muslin, at least six" tells guests they can buy one pack without checking whether someone else already has.
Set prices loosely. Because contributions arrive as money rather than parcels, the price on the registry is a guide for guests rather than a checkout total. If the pram goes on sale between the shower and the birth, you pocket the difference.
Aim for a spread. A registry that only has a pram and a cot leaves your colleague with nothing to buy. A registry that is all singlets and washers leaves your parents wondering where to put a proper contribution. A good list has a few big items, a middle band of things that cost what a normal shower gift costs, and a handful of small useful things. The typical baby shower gift in Australia is A$30 to A$70 from a friend and A$50 to A$150 from immediate family, so make sure there are gifts at both ends of that. Our guide to how much to give for a baby shower has the full breakdown, and guests will be reading it too.
Not sure what belongs on the list? Our month-by-month baby registry checklist sorts it by when you will actually use each thing, and the product guide at easyregistry.com.au/guides/baby-registry-checklist is the same list with recommended picks.
Step 4: Turn the big items into group gifts
This is the step that makes a universal registry worth it. A pram, a car seat and a cot together can cost more than any one guest would spend, and nobody wants to be the person who buys half a cot.
On EasyRegistry every item works as a group gift by default. A guest opens the pram, contributes whatever they like, and other guests make up the difference. Six friends putting in A$50 each covers a mid-range pram without anyone feeling out of pocket. You do not need a separate "group gift" product or a spreadsheet; your admin page keeps the running total. If someone wants to buy the whole item and hand it over at the shower, they choose "Buy this gift myself" and the item comes off the list.
A few things that help group gifts along:
- Name the item precisely. "Bugaboo Fox 5 in forest green" raises more than "pram" because people can picture the outcome.
- Say who is likely to chip in. If your workmates have said they want to go in together, put a line in the description: "The work crew have claimed this one, but any help is welcome."
- Leave the price honest. Rounding the pram down to make it look achievable just means you make up the gap yourself later.
If a group is organising among themselves, our guide to how much to chip in for a group gift has the wording they will be looking for.
Step 5: Add a cash fund or gift cards for the rest
Some things are hard to put on a list. Nappies for the first six months. The feeding gear you will not know you need until you know how feeding is going. The pharmacy runs at 2am.
A named fund. Add a "first three months fund" or a "nappy fund" as its own item, with a short note on what it is for. Guests contribute an amount of their choosing. Keep the name specific; "nappies and wipes" raises more than "miscellaneous".
Gift cards. Some relatives would rather give a Baby Bunting or Woolworths gift card than a transfer, and that is fine. Add the card as its own registry item ("Baby Bunting gift card, any amount"): guests contribute towards it in cash and you buy the card, the same way a gift card registry works. A guest who would rather bring a physical card to the shower can simply hand it over. If you are the one giving a card, our guide on making a gift card personal has ideas for the note.
A wishing well. If you want cash contributions to be the main event rather than a side option, set up a baby shower wishing well with two or three lines of wording. It works well for second babies, where the basics are already in the cupboard. Our post on whether you need a registry for a second baby weighs it up.
Step 6: Share the link
The registry goes out three ways, and the tone matters more than the channel.
On the invitation. Whoever is hosting the shower adds one line at the bottom: "For anyone who has asked what would help, Priya and Sam have a registry at [link]." That is it. The registry is never the headline of the invite. Our baby shower invitation wording post has full examples, and registry invitation wording covers the one-liner in more detail.
When people ask. Interstate family, workmates who will not be at the shower, and friends who message "what do you need?" all get the link directly. Sending it in reply to a question never feels pushy.
Once, in the group chat. If there is a family or friends group, one message with the link and a thank-you is enough. Do not repost it, and do not send reminders.
Guests browse the list and pick something, so nobody has to message you to ask what would help. For more on this, see the best ways to share your registry.
Step 7: Track gifts and say thank you
After the shower the registry becomes your thank-you list. The admin page shows every contribution with the guest's name, the gift they chose, the amount and any message they left. Work through it before the baby arrives, because you will not remember who gave the wraps once you are three weeks in.
Thank-you notes do not need to be long. Name the gift, say how you will use it, and send them within a few weeks of the shower, or after the birth with a photo if that is easier. Our thank you messages for a baby shower post has wording for cash contributions, group gifts and the relative who ignored the list entirely.
Timing: when to set it up
Most parents create the registry around 20 to 24 weeks, once the big decisions (pram, car seat, cot) are close, and share it four to six weeks before the shower. That gives interstate guests time to contribute and gives you time to see what is covered before you buy the rest yourself. The car seat is the one item to sort early; it needs to be fitted before you drive home from hospital, and our guide to the best baby car seats in Australia explains the AS/NZS 1754 requirement.
Second baby? Set it up later and smaller, or skip the item list and run a wishing well.
Common questions
Can I put items from different shops on one baby registry?
Yes, on a universal registry. You paste the product link from any store, guests contribute towards the item, and you buy it yourself with the money. Single-store registries (Baby Bunting, Amazon, David Jones) only carry that shop's stock.
Do guests have to buy the whole item?
No. On EasyRegistry a guest can put any amount towards a gift and other guests make up the rest. A guest who wants to buy the whole thing can choose "Buy this gift myself".
Is it rude to ask for cash on a baby registry?
Not in Australia, as long as the wording is warm and gifts stay optional. Name what the money is for (the pram, the first few months) and make it clear a card and their company are enough. Our baby shower registry etiquette post has example wording.
How much does a baby registry cost to set up?
Creating and sharing an EasyRegistry registry is free, and bank transfer, PayID, cash and Revolut contributions are free to receive. Card and PayPal payments and email alerts are Premium features, a one-off AU$39 for the registry once the trial ends (after 14 days, at your first gift payment, or a week before the event, whichever is sooner).
What if someone gives us something that isn't on the list?
Say thank you, use it if you can, and quietly return or regift it if you can't. Nobody is checking. The registry exists to make giving easier, not to police it.
Ready to build yours? EasyRegistry lets you add gifts from any store, turn the big items into group gifts, mix in a cash fund, and share one link. It is free to create, and the baby registry checklist is built in so you can start from a list instead of a blank page. Create your baby registry.