This month focuses on the following topics: mothers and babies, poverty, housing and gambling statistics.

Forthcoming releases

If you are interested in any of the forthcoming releases or datasets, please contact the Parliamentary Library to discuss in more detail.

(a) Jobs and Skills Australia (JSA)

Note: Release dates may be subject to change without notice.

After the latest key economic statistics? Visit the Parliamentary Library’s Key Economic and Social Indicators Dashboard (KESI).

Recent reports

Health of Mothers and Babies, 2020 (Australian Institute of Health and Welfare)

In 2020:

• 291,712 women gave birth to 295,976 babies
• Indigenous mothers accounted for 4.9% (14,384) of women who gave birth
• The rate of women aged 15–44 giving birth was lower than a decade ago (56 per 1,000 women in 2020 compared with 64 per 1,000 in 2010)
• The average age of all women who gave birth was 30.9 in 2020 compared with 30.0 in 2010
• The proportion of teenage mothers (aged under 20) has decreased over time (3.8% in 2010 compared with 1.8% in 2020), and the proportion of mothers aged 40 and over has increased (4.1% in 2010 compared with 4.5% in 2020)
• There were 9.9 perinatal deaths for every 1,000 births compared to 10.2 in 2010, this included:
  • 2,272 stillbirths, a rate of 7.7 deaths per 1,000 births (compared to 2,201 in 2010 with a rate of 7.3)
  • 672 neonatal deaths, a rate of 2.3 deaths per 1,000 live births (compared to 876 neonatal deaths with a rate of 2.9 per 1,000 live births).

Additional reports: Births, 2021 (ABS), Stillbirths and Neonatal Deaths (AIHW), Infertility Prevalence Estimates, 1990–2021 (World Health Organization)

Poverty in Australia: Who is Affected (Australian Council of Social Service and UNSW Sydney)

This report uses data from the Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS) to identify the groups facing the highest risk of poverty, and the groups of people most likely to be living in poverty.

In summary:

• On average in 2019–20, 1 in 8 people (3,319,000/13.4%) and 1 in 6 children (761,000/6.6%) lived below the poverty line after taking account of their housing costs. The poverty line based on 50% of median household income ranged from $489 per week for a single person to $1,027 per week for a couple with 2 children.

The following groups faced the highest risk of poverty (20% or more) in 2019–20:

• people in households whose main income-earner was of working age and unemployed (62%) or not in the labour force (47%)
• people in households receiving income support including Newstart Allowance/JobSeeker Payment (60%), Parenting Payment (72%), Youth Allowance (34%), Disability Support Pension (43%) or Carer Payment (39%)
• tenants in public housing (52%) and private rental (20%, and 50% for those aged 65 years and over)
• people in sole parent households (34%, and 39% among children in those households)
• single people without children (25%, and 26% among those under 65 years), and
• people with disability and a ‘core activity restriction’ (20%).

State of the Nation’s Housing Report 2022–23 (National Housing Finance and Investment Corporation)

• More than 1.8 million new households are expected to form across Australia from 2023 to 2033, taking total households to 12.6 million (up from 10.7 million in 2022). These households are expected to comprise around 1.7 million new occupied households and 116,000 vacant properties (for example, holiday homes).
• From 2023 to 2032, household formation is expected to be dominated by lone person households (563,600 additional households), followed by couples with children households (533,300 additional households). Within 5 years, it is expected lone person households will be the fastest growing household type across the country.
• Construction activity has been at record levels, but is expected to weaken, with an increase of 148,500 net dwellings expected in 2022–23. With higher interest rates and declining dwelling prices, net additions are likely to decline to 127,500 in 2024–25. In 2022–23, NHFIC expects detached dwelling net additions to be 89,400 and multi-density net additions to be 59,100.

Additional statistical reports: Housing Dashboard (AIHW), Housing Statistics (ABS), Housing (Report on Government Services, Productivity Commission), Women and Property Ownership, 2023 (CoreLogic)

Gambling statistics

Australian Gambling Research Centre

• Gambling participation, experience of harm and community views (March 2023)
• Community attitudes towards sports and race betting advertising in Australia (March 2023)
• Exposure and impact of sports and race betting advertising in Australia (March 2023)
• Gambling participation and harm among Australian men (October 2022)

Queensland Government Statistician’s Office

• Australian Gambling Statistics, 37^th edition, 1994–95 to 2019–20 (December 2022)

Victorian Responsible Gambling Foundation

• Gambling harm and the online gambling environment (February 2023)
• Gambling harm experienced by children of parents who gamble (October 2022)
• Gambling problems, ricks factors and implications in Australian veterans (August 2022)

Interested in finding out what the latest statistics are telling us about the Australian economy and population? Each month the Parliamentary Library publishes a Flag Post article listing new reports on a wide variety of topics. The list includes important upcoming ABS releases and other research organisations and government departments.