Fewer children born as mothers detail trade-offs
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Dian Winata of Adelaide, Australia, balanced full-time work with raising three children while navigating the challenges of being a new permanent resident and accessing support for her daughter’s autism.
Like other Australian women, Ms. Winata made sacrifices of personal time to manage work and family responsibilities, a pattern becoming more common as the country’s fertility rate declines.
Australia’s 2026 Intergenerational Report revealed the population is aging rapidly, with the total fertility rate at 1.48 births per woman in 2024 and projected to fall to 1.34 by 2065. Demographer Liz Allen from the Australian National University explained that people may be having fewer children because financial and social conditions make it difficult.
Lauren Treweek, a mother of three from Melbourne, chose a larger family for the joy it brought, but acknowledged the “motherhood penalty”, career setbacks and reduced earnings that can follow having children. A 2023 Treasury report found women’s earnings fall by an average of 55 percent in the first five years after becoming a parent, while men’s remain unchanged.
Paula Gaziero, a stay-at-home mother of three sons in Queensland, prioritised raising her children over pursuing her accounting career, viewing it as a temporary sacrifice. Her family reduced expenses by living on her husband’s grandmother’s property and homeschooling their eldest son. Ms. Gaziero appreciates Australia’s free healthcare as a factor in her decision to have children and believes she will eventually return to work as her children grow older.
