Wow! It must vary greatly btwn states and hospitals.

I am in Geelong and, like Sarah, I am doing shared care.

So far the only money I have had to part with has been for my antenatal classes ($60). Everything else has been completely free.

At about 14 weeks I went into the hospital for my first appointment where I saw a midwife and had a basic scan done (the first time we got to see the baby). We received 2 pictures (which you can see on little Nobba's www below) and the scan only lasted about 5 minutes.

Then at 19 weeks, I had a proper Ultrasound down at the medical imaging centre at Geelong hospital. I had to drink 500mls of water an hour before hand and we were in there for about 45 minutes. We took in a video and got a copy. It cost us nothing (though the technition dude was less than enthusiastic about the video for some reason). We also got another photo of the bubs but it wasn't nearly as good as the pics from the first scan (I think the dude was reluctant to give us anything decent! Had a bee in his bonnet).
Now, he had trouble getting the view of the heart that he wanted so we get to go in for another ultrasound in a couple of weeks time (I will be 22 weeks) so that is a bit of a bonus. As far as I know, we won't have to pay for this one either. After all, it's not my fault the baby wasn't in the right position right?

Anyway, by the sounds of it, each state/hospital is different so I guess the QLD people would be best to answer your questions more specifically. Otherwise, give the hospital a call. I called them with a few questions and they were very obliging. I guess sometimes they just assume that you will know.

Best of luck and I look forward to hearing all about it!!!