Australians are having fewer children than ever before, according to the Australian Bureau of Statistics.

Experts warn failure to address the economic and social issues stopping young people from starting families could have drastic impacts on the economy and society in the near future.

The birthrate across the country is now at 1.5 babies per woman after 287,998 births were registered in Australia across 2023, down from a peak of over 3.5 in 1961.

Amanda Davies, a social scientist with expertise in demography and population at the University of Western Australia, said the fertility rate has been dropping globally for the past 50 years and has been “seen for a large part as a success story”.

“A lot of the declining fertility rate that we’ve seen in Australia for the past 30 or 40 years is global phenomena as a result of improved women’s empowerment, education for females and as well as the roll-out contraception and a woman’s right over her own body,” she said.

“That’s helped curb significant population growth, which has enabled economies to stabilise and become more developed.”

She said that a lower natural replacement rate in the Australian population means “we need to change our approach to how we are supporting our growing older population”.

“We are at a pinch point of sorts where the baby boomer workforce is moving into retirement and as they grow older, their needs will change,” Davies said.

“We are projecting that we need more workers to support them and there is concern about how we are going to be able to meet that demand”.

Although the fertility rate for women aged 15 to 19 and 20 to 24 has experienced a significant decline, the fertility rate of women aged 40 to 44 and 30 to 34 has significantly increased.

Starting a family

One factor cited as a major reason why young people aren’t starting families is the cost associated with not only raising children, but also for women to put their careers on hold.

Victoria Devine, founder of She’s on the Money, said that it’s clear that financial reality is a major factor in many young people’s decisions about whether or not to start a family.

“It feels like we’re being forced to choose between milestone goals that once felt achievable—whether that’s buying a home, pursuing higher education, or starting a family—all because the cost of living keeps climbing,” she said.

“Childcare costs alone can make the idea of returning to work feel impossible, with some parents realising their income barely covers fees.”

For most people in their 20s, owning a house is quickly becoming an out-of-reach goal due to economic factors.

Davies said that people may not “appreciate the full costs that are being passed on to the younger generation”.

“The impact of the housing crisis, the high HECS debts, the high business start-up costs and all the things facing young people are changing the nature of our population.”

“We need to move away from falling into that trap because if don’t get it right now, in 20 years time this plays out in our workforce and into who we look like as a society.”

Affordable housing is a major barrier for young families to start having kids, according to Davies. Photo: Getty

Migration

Migration isn’t only propping up Australia’s population, but its economy too: without it, the country would likely be in a recession.

She said that without international migration or an increase in fertility rates, Australia would have a declining population within 15 years.

“We are very reliant on international migration for population growth at the moment and it is reasonably important to our economy,” she said.

“If we don’t have younger Australian-born people, we become increasingly dependent on international migration — that isn’t necessarily a problem — but we but it does change the social nature of the system.”