Dean Smith: Birth rate in WA falls alongside the standard of living

The birth rate in WA is declining.

According to data from the Australian Bureau of Statistics, 1,486 fewer babies were born here in 2024 than in 2023.

The ABS also reveals WA’s total fertility rate reached a record low of 1.57 babies per woman over the same period.

It reinforces similar statistics released by the WA Government earlier this year, which confirmed that the number of births recorded here in 2024 was the lowest in nearly two decades.

At the same time, there has been a record surge in the State’s population, with a growth rate of 2.4 per cent — the largest annual growth rate of any Australian State or Territory in 2024.

Most of that was international or interstate migration, with the ABS reporting the natural increase in the WA population, which factors in births and deaths, was just 2602 for the December 2024 quarter.

That is the lowest number recorded since the June 1981 quarter.

It is no coincidence that, as the birthrate has been falling, so has the standard of living for West Australians.

This is the reality of life under Anthony Albanese and Labor, who have failed to address a cost-of-living crisis that shows no sign of easing.

What was once predominantly a personal decision — when or whether to start a family — is now increasingly an economic calculation.

A growing number of WA couples are putting off having children or deciding not to have them at all, not because they do not want to, but because they feel they cannot afford it.

It follows a trend of falling fertility rates across Australia, but one that is pronounced in our State — which, according to some economic markers, has also been one of the worst impacted by economic hardship since Labor came to power.

Soaring rents, mortgages, groceries, childcare and education fees, and ever-increasing utility bills, are combining to form an economic wall that many young families are no longer willing or able to climb.

Perth’s median house price has risen to $781,000 according to REIWA.

First home buyers, on average, must now save more than $150,000 for a 20 per cent deposit on a median-priced Perth house.

Renters are not faring any better.

Perth has one of the tightest rental markets in the country with vacancy rates hovering around 0.5 per cent.

Average weekly rents have increased by more than 20 per cent over the past 12 months, pushing a growing number of people into housing insecurity.

Due to a shortage of available rental properties, rent for a median-priced house increased by nearly $200 to $685 per week between 2022 and now.

Wholesale electricity prices have doubled since 2021, impacting households, businesses, and individuals.

A study of 2025-26 WA power bills by Econnex found a typical household using about 5700 kWh a year will pay just over $2200 annually.

While residential customers have been shielded to an extent by subsidies, these are ending, and households will soon face the same cost increases that businesses have been experiencing.

This situation is exacerbated by the fact that WA exports a large portion of its gas, leading to higher domestic prices.

When you are facing these challenges, potentially living from pay-to-pay, the idea of taking time off work for maternity leave, let alone covering the ongoing costs of raising a child, is a daunting one.

That is before you consider childcare and education expenses.

Here in WA, out of pocket costs remain high, even after the Albanese Government’s flawed subsidies programs.

Full time child care for working parents in Perth can cost upwards of $500 a week, per child.

For those without extended family support or flexible work options, the maths often does not add up.

Even when considering public schooling, there is no such things as a “free” education.

Extra costs, including uniforms, technology, textbooks, excursions, camps, transport and even voluntary contributions, need to be considered, and the latest Futurity Investment Group Cost of Education Index reveals that Perth is Australia’s second most expensive city for a State-funded public education.

It is estimated the total cost of a public education here will be $122,106 over 13 years for a child starting school in 2025, an increase of 35 per cent compared to last year.

This financial pressure is not evenly distributed and falls hardest on low-income families, single income households, and young people in insecure employment — the groups who have traditionally been more likely to have children earlier in life.

While some might say this is simply a matter of choice, framing the decline in births as a lifestyle preference misses the point.

The truth is that many WA families are not choosing to be child-free, they are being priced out of parenthood.

This is a social shift with long term implications.

Australia already faces a demographic time bomb, with an ageing population and shrinking workforce.

If an increasing number of the younger generation feel they can no longer afford to have children, we risk entering a cycle of economic stagnation, where there are fewer taxpayers to fund the health, education, and other systems that underpin our society.

That is why the Albanese Government needs to recognise this as not just a demographic concern but an urgent economic issue.

Now re-elected with significant majority, it now has no excuse but to act.

We need targeted policies to address cost-of-living pressures, including housing and energy.

Our economy depends on people — on workers, parents, consumers, and carers.

If WA is to remain a place where people can build full and flourishing lives, the decision to have children must be supported – not sidelined – by the economic reality.

The next generation is already being shaped not by dreams of what is possible, but by fears of what is unaffordable.

Until Labor changes that, the growing silence of empty nurseries across WA will speak volumes.

Dean Smith is a Liberal Senator for WA.