Your email address: Email Us Get the Newsletter By continuing you agree to our Terms and Privacy PolicyAustralia’s birth rate has just hit its lowest point on record: 1.48 babies per woman. At the 2022 election, Labor promised cheaper child care, which led to out-of-pocket costs dropping by about 11 per cent. By 2023, its birth rate fell to 0.72, rising slightly to 0.8 last year. This appeared to work at the start, with the birth rate climbing to 1.59 by 2021. It managed this by investing in families, children and young people, but the birth rate remains below replacement.