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My wife and I lived aboard for 2 years and if you include maintenance for the yacht (42ft Adams), the costs were $45k - $50k pa. So take off anti fouling and breakdowns and general maintenance off that.
Ate good food and stayed in a marina for about 2 nights per month on average.
Can't wait to do it again.....
My gf and I spent 18 months sailing around NZ. Boat was 39ft. Our expenses were around $100 per week unless we stayed in a marina. Jetted off the boat once by letting the tide run out under it and it sat on it keel. Free. Fishing was so good you could catch every evening meal. The $100 a week would have been less but we bought beer and wine periodically.
This just show the difficulty of answering this type of question - different respondants include/exclude different things. At one end would be all living expenses whilst happening to live on a boat, at the other end, just the daily, boat related, costs which often exclude longer term maintenance.
The big cost that is often missing is depreciation. Most Australian houses at least keep up with inflation whereas boats usually depreciate.
Where you want to live, as others have said, makes a huge difference, not just which part of Australia but marina/mooring/anchor or cruising around.
I'd always take very low figures with a pinch of salt, I suspect that the, "my boat only costs $200 a year" brigade are presenting figures to pull the wool over their partner's eyes.
My suggestion is to break down the costs into sensible headings and research / estimate each one for your boat & location. It's also easier to get an accurate cost on "slipping a 40 ft yacht & antifouling in Pittwater than a generic "what's the whole thing likely to cost?"
Budgeting is really handy as boat related costs can vary wildly from month to month. I've probably spent $6000 this November on a mix of annual, medium-term, long-term and one off maintenance, improvements & marina space while we do it. However, I spent hardly anything Jan to April, zero May to October and expect more or less zero in December (we live on our boat).
The use of the boat also makes a difference - are you maintaining it for tough blue water cruising, pottering around, racing or just sitting on a mooring?
Just out of interest, the ASFA standard suggests an income of $40k for a modest income for a retired couple and 60k for a comfortable income, so the 45/50k mentioned above isn't out of order for total expenditure.
Cheers
Bristol
I think t depends on your lifestyle and how you manage it. I sold my car built the boat and cruised tassie and the East coast of oz for a number of years .
worked in rhe Whitsundays, Thursday island and cape York to top up the kitty. Worse thing I did in Townsville is I brought a car. Shopping with a backpack and a tender and your yacht/home is on the pick is the cheapest life. I still can' see how you spend more than 10k a year just living aboard.
It is relative.
You want to live on sardines and 2 minutes noodles. A splurge is on a blade steak?
I personally prefer scotch fillet and want to be able to go out to dinner.
I would love to know where in Sydney you can get slipping done for $1000 especially on a 40ft boat. Last month it cost me $1700 FOR slipping and antifoul plus another $200 for prop speed.
$1000+ for insurance this is on a 33ft boat.
What happens when you have a big expense new motor or sails?
What happens if you need to fly home to family? Medical expenses?
Yeah you can survive on $1000 pm but but I personally prefer a bit of quality especially after working so hard to get there.
A couple of the posts here remind me of the famous Monty Python sketch.
Twodogs got into the territory where nobody else ventured sofar, namely engines, where a yearly service could cost thousands by the "experts".
Sails - if one is reckless enough to sail the yacht regularly, God forbid daring to race it, not just using it, like the wast majority of yacht owners this days, as a houseboat.
Also there is the largest money pit which everyone is bound to fall into, rigging costs, as one is obliged to replace a most likely perfect rigging every ten years to satisfy the whims of the insurance mafia.
Here goes the '$5/day ' theory which is in today's Australia nothing but a fanciful dream, sadly the days of Alby Mangel are no more!
(There are few of the smart, resilient young ones who try to beat the odds and they might be able with the help of the net manage it for a while but this is only a drop in the ocean. The trend is to force yachties to spend!
The rest is going to be led to the milking pail like good cattle should be.
There are hidden costs which are not as obvious as a major expense might be - the "l just get this new gadget, it's 'only a few bucks' kind of spending", which could become a serious amount on a yearly basis. It did for me, so why would others be different? 
The food and drink, for one must eat and drink no matter what, imo is not to be counted as 'extra' unless one's fond of permanent Lucullian fares.
The fact that modern society is based on spending not saving does not make us any more free and independent it makes us more and more dependent on the need to buy our "feeling of freedom" which is ready to be purchased "for just the right price" using a readily available loan.
Replacing costs such as engines and sails is a overall cost to all boat owners.
A liveaboard cost is seperate pricing. If your asking what's the price to livaboard I don't include the price of my vessel replacements parts or renovations.
Living aboard costs should be .
Food and supplies
Rent ,fuel and gas.
Insurance.
annual maintance and slipping.
The actual live aboard costs - strictly speaking - are the swingeing insurance premiums, exorbitant Marina fees and the key deposit for the dunny.
All other costs are to be spent regardless of the location of the tub mooring or marina, no matter which.
Random people where coming into a secure marina and staying on a B&B yacht after 150 comments the post got shut down!
Australia is one of the more expensive places to own and sail a boat. There are too many good reasons to spend money. I left Gladstone in June, spent $300 on provisioning. I didn't see a marina or a supermarket during the next 4 months and only used 120l of diesel and 80l of petrol. Nothing broke during this season either.
Looking back, it actually saved me money when I brought a newer and more simply designed boat. On my last boat "old" boat I'd go out sailing for 3 days and then have to spend a week fixing things.
So if you want to sail and sail cheaply, go somewhere where there is no possibility to spend money.
I have nearly finished spending money on the boat so when I do go cruising next year I don't have that expense. It will be purely living on board. You don't claim pot plants, landscaping and hot water replacements to total costs of household living. And Same goes with living aboard I think.
My seat Southace!
Claming: "I have nearly finished spending money on the boat (whaaat??? ) so when I do go cruising next year I don't have that expense. It will be purely living on board. " 
I would like to hold you to your word and invite you to start an HONEST list from the start of your cruise to list the things you "don't have to spend on" !
The boat, on which one does not have to spend on has not been built yet, and that includes pot plants, landscaping and hot water replacements, methinks.
) so when I do go cruising next year I don't have that expense. It will be purely living on board. "
it's an interesting thread, but the definitions are tricky. We keep detailed records but, at the high level, they are split into "Boat" and "Everything else"
It all depends what you want or need to do, where you are going to do it and the standard of comfort you require.
If you own a boat already and live in a house, moving onto the boat is a big saving.
I'm intrigued by the concept of "nothing to spend" on a boat. Even oil, filters, coolant, belts & impellers at the correct intervals is something. At this stage, my "to buy for the boat list" is down to split pins & an o ring for the transducer blank.
The other thing to consider is approach to size. Our boat is very small, cheap to buy & maintain, no expectation of significant depreciation but no shower or fridge. In exchange, we don't worry about the odd night in a marina. A larger boat could provide all the comforts, but at higher capital, depreciation & maintenance costs (although it is interesting how many bigger boats are in marinas)
Cheers
Bristol
