There are many free parks, beaches, botanic gardens, bush walks and picnics to make, also found a free park with swimming pool here in Qld.. I always google what’s on free activities as well. This year I got my 12 yr old in a free AFL club and now a free little atletics community program. We had our kids years ago in a low cost community swimming program as well. Also sign up for groupon and scoopon, sometime we find a bowling or bounce voucher for $5 pp

I check the “what’s on” websites to check events. Some are free, others not. Are you looking at whole day activities or an hour or 2. Sometimes whole day activities can be more cost effective. Check out online somewhere that has a big playground with lots to do, bringing your own water, lunch and snacks. Indoor play centres. Kind of depends on the ages of your children and what their interests are. Some kids enjoy time at the library or museums/art galleries, or other active/interactive things.

I’m not sure how old your kids are but I know mine love just going to the park or beach. We also have a lake/dam quite close that they love to go fishing at. Or they love going on picnics. Honestly anywhere out in the fresh air and they are usually pretty happy..

Pretty sure all my suggestions have been mentioned below. Park, playground, beach, library, museum, picnics, hiking, backyard camp outs. All fun and minimal spend

Parks, libraries, musuems, beaches…..pack your own snacks, drinks, picnics and you will have a great day without having to spend a cent except for transport costs.

Whats wrong with Maccies or Hungry Jacks . No kids ever get sick of them from what I heard lol

It depends where you live. If you’re somewhere near Sydney, you can google “whats on in Sydney” for example, and you’ll find lots of sites that list free events/activities for kids. If you’re in a more rural area, then activities like cycling, hiking, swimming can help you discover new areas, keep the kids busy, and not cost a lot.

There are so many different parks to keep it interesting and different, also check out your local library for activities also your shire. Our shire has a newsletter you can get emailed to you (every two months) which lists local activities (normally free) and advice etc.

check the classified section in your local paper as they often list lots of free things to do with kids in your area. The galleries too offer free activities often too.

The park is a good place to start. It actually depends on the age of your kids as to what they will enjoy. Shopping centres will usually have a free kids play zone as well and you can get your grocery shopping done on the same trip!

Im amazed at all the options

Depends on the ages of the kids. The library has free story times, and once they’re at school, you have the park. A cheap night out is dinner at an Italian club.

I google for example “free kids activities in Brisbane” and it comes up with amazing things to see and do for free! Most cities have something going on each day and often they are things we would never have found out otherwise

I agree with libraries. My mum did this with us as kids all the time. They had a reading program we could join, story reading time. We could also hire dvds for free.
We also loved some local ‘adventure’ playgrounds.
Maccas comes are cheap if you want to treat them and always a winner.Museums are free too.
Another idea is okay basketball at the local school playground.

The park! There are lots of parks around with different play equipment so can be a variety and it is free! Also depending on where you live, google for example “free kids activities in brisbane” and many weird, wonderful and whacky things pop up that you wouldn’t have thought of.

Checkout when Bunnings do their kids craft it’s all free and the kids have a ball, even better when it’s school holidays as they do daily craft.

Great answers everyone

What age are your children?
These are a few ideas, but targeted at a toddler / preschool age.

Local parks – there are so many around so you can choose a different one a day.

Shopping centre playgrounds – ok, so generally for use when you are shopping, but i have gone to them on rainy days. Again, lots of variety around so you can choose a different place. This is only for toddlers/pre-school age though.

Local libraries have a great range of activities on, like story time which is always fun.

Walks around the neighbourhood – take a ball / frisbee / picnic blanket with you to make an afternoon of it.

The Melbourne zoos (healesville and werribee) have free entry for kids on weekends, public holidays and school holidays. It isn’t cheap for adults, but might be a good option for a treat outing.

Go into the city on a train / tram and take the free city tour bus (Melbourne). If you take your own food, this would only be the cost of the public transport tickets. With my son, he loved the train trip so much he just wanted to ride it again.

Go to the airport viewing areas. Count the planes, see who spots them first.

Trip to the beach on a nice day. Hours of fun in that, but probably best in summer!

And keep your eyes out on websites like Weekend Notes which are great for spotting free activities / events to plan for.

Libraries have plenty of free activities with craft, book readings and more. Museums often have free activities and tours too. Parks are good for getting out and getting exercise and you can take your own food which is good for a budget too.

Different parks in your area. Nature walks. A lot of shires do offer free activities or even very very cheap ones