Rebuilding Australia’s demographic future, one family at a time.
Australia’s birth rate has been below replacement for more than a decade. Pronatalism Australia is dedicated to understanding why – and to rebuilding the conditions that make it easier for people to have the children they actually want.
Why We Exist
Fertility is falling
Australia’s total fertility rate is now well below replacement. Left unchecked, this means fewer children, ageing communities, and long-term pressure on our economy and care systems.
Most people still want kids
Survey after survey shows Australians end up with fewer children than they hoped for. The gap isn’t about preferences—it’s about housing, work, and cultural norms.
We can choose a different future
We treat fertility as a matter of stewardship. We ask: What would it take to make it genuinely easier for Australians who want children to have them?
What is Pronatalism?
Pronatalism, as we use the term, is not about coercion, nationalism, or shaming small families. It is a commitment to:
- Take low fertility and demographic decline seriously;
- Support people who already want children but face structural barriers;
- Keep open the possibility that more of us might want children if circumstances were different.
We call this a grounded or contingent pronatalism: context-sensitive, ethically serious, and focused on conditions rather than quotas.
Key Themes & Projects
Demographic Capital
We treat population structure, family formation, and fertility potential as long-term assets that need active care – much like environmental capital or infrastructure.
Fertility Stewardship
We’re developing tools to help governments understand how policies affect family formation, building on machine-learning models of fertility risk and resilience.
Hope, not Doom
Our work responds to anxiety about climate and economy by insisting that serious governance and planning can make the future more liveable – and more hospitable to children.