Australia's baby recession deepens, new ABS data says

Australia's baby recession has deepened, with new data revealing the nation's fertility rate has hit a record low. 

The latest research by the Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS) showed the fertility rate was 1.48 babies per woman in 2024, down from 2023 figures. 

Parents are also having children later in life in Australia, with the median age for mothers sitting at 32.1 and 33.9 for fathers in 2024. 

Beidar Cho, ABS head of demography, said parents having children later in life reflected several different trends, including access to education and higher workforce participation by women. 

In the past 10 years, the median age of mothers increased by 1.2 years, and for fathers it increased by 0.9 years.

'Sad reality for young Aussies'

Australian National University demographer Liz Allen said her research showed the downward trend was not purely driven by "free choice", but that the barriers to achieving that much-wanted family were "insurmountable". 

"When we ask in surveys what people's intended or desired number of children, what they say is generally higher than what they achieve," Dr Allen said.

"Total fertility rates are not a problem in their own right. If it's an indication of choice and empowerment, then who are we to say it's bad?"

Housing affordability, economic security, gender inequality and climate change were the four big things that were not being earnestly tackled by government, Dr Allen said.

She said Australia was faced with declining total fertility rates that were well below the replacement level and have been since the mid-1970s. 

Dr Allen said in Sydney and Melbourne, as examples, families looking for affordable housing to establish a family were being pushed to the fringes of cities.

"The total fertility rates are lower in the cities than they are outside the city limits, and that's because housing is far more affordable," she said.

The ABS is projecting that by the mid-2050s, deaths will outnumber local births.

'We can't afford to have kids'

Cassie Tweddle is one of many Australians not having kids because of the cost of living and housing affordability. 

The 33-year-old hairdresser said she always wanted a family to grow old with, like she did with her parents now. 

"We are not having kids because nowadays you have to choose one thing. You can't afford to buy a house, commute to work, and pay for childcare," she said.

"We rent, and to have kids, we would need to move into a bigger place, which we couldn't afford, plus having children.

"My parents would have to move closer because my wage would go to childcare. 

Barriers for same-sex couples

Same-sex couples faced even greater costs and barriers on their journey to start a family, Dr Allen said.

Earlier this year, the federal government committed to providing Medicare rebates for LGBTIQ+ couples and single people accessing assisted reproductive technology. 

"We're in uncharted territory when we think about the increasing rates of egg freezing. Of course, none of the conversations that we've had talk about non-heteronormative couples," Dr Allen says.

"On one hand, technological improvements aid a whole range of family types, but policy and the costs associated with that healthcare have not kept pace.

"It's a conundrum of outdated surrogacy laws and the funding for various medical treatments for those who do require IVF."

How other countries are tackling declining birth rate

In an attempt to reverse the steady 12-year decline of Poland's birth rate, hoteliers reward clients who conceive babies in its hotels.

A Polish real estate company, the Arche group, which owns 23 hotels across the country, launched an incentives program offering "free special events", such as a baptism, to clients who can prove that "the conception" of a baby was "linked to the couple's stay" at one of their properties.

China's government announced it would give cash to parents for childcare by January, in an effort to try to lift the birth rate after three years of decline. 

An Island in South Korea is offering residents subsidised housing for just $28 a month in a bid to lose its title of the lowest birth rate in the world. 

The high cost of living, housing, a competitive job market, and societal factors like gender inequality have contributed to the low fertility rate, which President Yoon Suk Yeol declared a "national emergency".