The Evolution of Population and Family Policy in Australia

Abstract

Australia’s population grew rapidly during most of the nineteenth century, based on high fertility and policies that encouraged immigration. From the beginning of the twentieth century through the end of the Second World War, the birth rate fell sharply, and net migration was close to zero. After the Second World War, the government initiated policies to increase Australia’s population through both fertility and immigration. Since the 1970s, after a baby boom driven largely by a tempo effect, fertility has fluctuated in a narrow band between 1.73 and 1.96 births per woman, while life expectancy has increased steadily and immigration has reached an all-time high. Over the past 60 years, the Australian government has introduced, modified, and in some cases withdrawn a range of programs to benefit families with children. These have included support for a basic wage, equal wages for women, cash payments to families based on the number of children, tax deductions for expenses related to children, and support for institutionalized childcare. Policy goals have included improving equity across income groups and first discouraging and then supporting the labor-force participation of women. Increasing fertility is no longer a stated policy objective. Today, Australia’s population policy effectively is policy about the size and nature of the migration program.