The great Australian baby bust. Is having kids too expensive?

Australia’s birth rate has fallen to its lowest level in history, with young families having fewer children and having them later. Joshua Barnett reports.

according to Australian Bureau of StatisticsIn 2024, the national fertility rate has fallen to 1.48 births per woman; this rate fell from 1.50 the previous year to well below the 2.1 needed to maintain a stable population. Parents are also older than ever; The average age of mothers is 32.1 and the average age of fathers is 33.9.

Young Australians are being priced out of the future their parents took for granted. From housing to job insecurity, the decision to have children has become a financial calculation for many young people, and unfortunately the math doesn’t add up.

housing trap

For most people, the basic requirement for starting a family is a stable home. In Australia, this has become an impossible dream for many.

according to Australian Institute of Health and WelfareOne in four Australian households now spend more than 30% of their income on housing; this is often considered the financial stress threshold

In the decade to March 2025, average advertised rents in Australia have increased by approximately 48% for both houses and units, and the average house price in Sydney has doubled over the same period, reaching approximately $1.75 million by the end of 2025.

In 1984, the cost of the average home was only 3.3 times the average income. Today it’s almost 10.

The housing crisis we don’t have to experience and how we can fix it.

In 1981, 68% of those aged 30-34 had their own home. This figure will increase in 2025 now about 49% nationally (45% in NSW).

For young people, this means long-term renting or staying in shared homes until their thirties.

Not because they don’t want children, but because they can’t see how to afford them.

As a demographer at the University of Sydney Liz Allen’s notesThe gap between the number of children people want and the number of children they actually have is widening, and it’s not because of choice; These are “insurmountable obstacles” such as housing and the cost of living.

Economic squeeze

When the survey is done, Young Australians consistently cite the cost of living as the top reason they are delaying parenthood. And they are right to be concerned. Child care, rent, food and energy bills have risen faster than wages.

Even for those who manage to find a place to live, economic insecurity reaches great levels. For more than a decade, real wages in Australia have remained virtually unchanged, with only an increase in the last 12 months. according to Australian Bureau of Statistics And AKTU, The current level of wages as a share of the economy Lowest level since records began in 1959. Productivity has increased but most Australians have not seen the benefits.

At the same time, the workforce has become increasingly precarious. Temporary contracts, temporary jobs and underemployment are the norm for young Australians. More than a million people now work more than one job just to stay afloat. Job security is non-existent for many, making the idea of ​​starting a family feel like a financial risk.

ACOSS Poverty in Australia 2025 The report shows one in seven Australians lives below the poverty line and one in six children (about 757,000) are growing up in poverty. The poverty line is set at 50% of the median after-tax household income, or roughly $584 a week for a single adult and $1,226 for a couple with two children. By comparison, JobSeeker’s payment is around $396 a week.

Due to rising rents and stagnant income support, families in poverty fall an average of $464 short each week, and many cannot afford basic post-housing expenses.

generation divide

Baby Boomers came of age in an era of cheap housing, free education and strong wage growth. Many built wealth through property and retirement, aided by generous tax breaks that are still available today. Millennials and Generation Z face the opposite situation: student debt, record rents, and job insecurity.

The result is a generational imbalance that economists have been warning about for years. Older Australians now hold the majority of the national wealth, while younger generations shoulder the tax burden that funds old age pensions and healthcare.

Young Australians told not to worry about lower super balances

Even monetary policy widened the deficit. When the Reserve Bank began raising interest rates to reduce inflation, older Australians with savings enjoyed higher returns while younger Australians with mortgages faced repayments. In fact, money flowed upward from the young to the old.

This wealth divide is not abstract. It determines who can afford to have children, buy a house, or build a future. For many young Australians it feels like pay their parents’ expenses retirement while locked up same living standards.

baby steps

The Albanian government has made some progress. Policies such as cheaper child care, expanded paid parental leave and increased rental assistance aim to ease the pressure on families.

Child Care Support it now covers 90% of wages for low-income households and saves some families thousands a year. Rental benefits have seen their biggest increase in three decades and minimum wages have been increased twice since Labor took office.

But these are incremental fixes to structural problems.

Labor appears to be playing the long game. It may take a generation for these small reforms to have a measurable impact on fertility. By then Australia’s working-age population will be smaller, older and under greater tax pressure to support retirees.

Australia’s falling birth rate reflects increasing economic pressure and declining confidence among younger generations. Evidence shows that housing costs, insecure work and slow wage growth are reshaping family decisions. While recent government measures aim to ease some of these pressures, experts argue they remain too limited to change long-term trends.

The data suggests that a generation is postponing or abandoning parenthood not by choice but by circumstance. Australia’s fertility rate is likely to remain at record lows until wider economic conditions change; this is a demographic signal of a society struggling to provide a secure basis for its future.