The cost of living crisis is affecting Aussies’ life decisions, with new data showing our birth rate has dropped off a cliff with the post-COVID baby boom well and truly over. Analysis by consultants KPMG looked at 2023, and the number of babies born fell across the country by over 8% compared to 2 years earlier. About 290,000 newborns came into the world in Oz last year – 26,000 fewer than in 2021, marking our lowest birth rate since 2006. Greater Sydney and Western Australia saw the biggest declines at -12%, while the ACT kept it relatively jiggy at -2%. Experts say rising housing costs/interest rates are behind the delays to start a family, and/or decisions against expanding our existing brood, leading to the sharpest drop since “economic stagflation in the 1970s”.

Check out this Squiz Shortcut to find out more about Australia’s declining birth rate.