I think you can pretty much spend as much or as little as you want Millsy. It's up to you and your budget.

Like Jordie pointed out - there's a lot of stuff you can buy that you really don't need but some are nice to have.

If you don't mind 2nd hand - your local paper is well worth checking out since you can get some great stuff that is in pretty good nick.

We got all our gear for about $1500: We bought our cot off ebay for $150 and spent approx $1100 at the baby store for the following:

Car seat
pram
nappy bag
baby bjorn active
baby rocker
glider chair (for me!)
cot mattress
bassinet mattress

And of course the other little things like nappies and clothes made up the rest of the $1500. It's worth making any 'big' purchases all at once since most shops will give you a discount for spending over $1000. We put ours on layby a few months before my due date - most baby shops will let you have a long layby.

Remember people love to give you things - especially for a first baby - so don't be afraid to tell them what you need if they ask. Also, if you know people who have kids, you might find you get a lot of offers to borrow some of their gear.