Australia’s consolidated government accounts bring together federal, state and local governments spending and revenue statistics. This gives the most complete picture of the nation’s fiscal position. The spending trends outlined in this report highlight that Australia’s fiscal system is inconsistent and inflexible. The analysis points to six potential issues in current policy setting processes.

Declining fertility rates are a worldwide phenomenon, with Australia no exception. Australia’s fertility rate has fallen to a record low of 1.5 births per woman. This report examines both the drivers of fertility decisions and the lessons from past policy interventions. It finds the decline in fertility has been driven by three factors.

This report highlights how today’s young Australians differ from previous generations and explores what this means for their economic security, work opportunities, living arrangements, path to independence and overall wellbeing. For policymakers seeking to seeking to ensure that an intergenerational pattern of improvement continues, this report offers three implications.

Government-funded child care subsidies aim to increase maternal labour force participation and improve access to formal child care. This paper examined the effects of a major child care policy reform implemented in 2018, finding that it had no measurable effect on maternal labour supply and led to a limited increase in formal child care use.

This report follows the trajectories of workers of different occupations, ages, and locations to better understand how wages and housing costs vary between the cities and regions. It also identifies the migration flows within Australia occurring in response to changing locations of opportunity finding overseas immigration has offset the worker exodus from the cities