The 2025 statistical report for the Household, Income and Labour Dynamics in Australia (HILDA) Survey has been released, providing a snapshot of how Australians are living.
The HILDA Survey interviews the same 16,000 people every year, providing a unique opportunity to assess how economic and social factors are affecting the everyday lives of Australians.
Capturing data up until 2023, this 20th iteration of the report is the first to consider data collected in the peak of the cost-of-living crisis that followed the COVID-19 pandemic.
The survey has shown that changing economic factors are having a major influence on the life decisions made by Australians, with respondents waiting to retire at an older age, wanting fewer children and reporting more bodily pain now, compared to the first HILDA Survey in 2001.
"We have the benefit of more than 20 years of data, which, when you consider everything that's happened globally, is a long time," said Dr Inga Lass, lead author of this year's report.
"This year, we've started to see the effects of Australians moving on from the height of the pandemic, feeling the cost-of-living pressures around them and then having to make decisions about their life."
Australians delaying retirement
Workers aged between 60 and 69 are retiring much later in life than they were 20 years ago.
In 2003, 70% of women and 49% of men aged between 60 and 64 were retired. By 2023, those rates have dropped considerably to 41% of women and 27% of men.
The report also observed a similar, but less pronounced, trend for those aged 65-69, with the proportion retired declining from 86% to 66% for women and 73% to 61% for men.
"These changes likely reflect a mix of economic and policy factors," said report co-author Dr Kyle Peyton.
"Back in 2003, the age pension eligibility was 62.5 years of age for women and 65 for men. By 2023, that had been increased to 67. That shift alone means many older Australians have needed to stay in the workforce longer, especially those who can't afford to retire before becoming eligible for the pension.
"At the same time, improvements in health at older ages mean that more people are physically able to keep working later in life."
Renting retirees being left economically vulnerable
Housing wealth remains the most significant component of economic wellbeing for retired Australians.
The proportion of retirees living in private rentals has roughly doubled over the last twenty years, while the wealth gap widens between retirees who own a home and those who do not.
Average annual rent payments for retiree households rose by more than 30% in real terms.
"Retirement in Australia is becoming a two-tiered system," said Dr Peyton.
"Australia's retirement system was built on the assumption that most people would own their homes by the time they retire.
"Homeowners tend to enter retirement with substantial financial security, while retirees who rent are far more exposed to housing stress. This group of renting retirees is only likely to grow.
"Over the past decades, public policy has focused on boosting housing demand while neglecting supply, sending prices soaring and entrenching intergenerational wealth inequality. Superannuation alone will not be enough to support the growing number of younger Australians locked out of homeownership."
Fertility rates at risk of further declines as desired number of children drops
Australia is at risk of a further decline in fertility rates, with respondents reporting they want fewer children and smaller families compared to 20 years ago.
For the first time, the average number of children desired by men has fallen below two, from 2.22 in 2005 to 1.99 in 2023. Women on average desire slightly more children than men, but the decline was just as marked – from 2.35 down to 2.09.
This decrease is particularly prominent in younger age groups.
"As it was twenty years ago, two children is still the most desired family size, but we've seen an increase in the numbers of people who said they wanted one child, or none at all," said Dr Inga Lass.
The survey also asked potential parents about the issues they consider important when deciding to have a child.
"Potential parents are growing more concerned about their financial security and the costs of raising a child, and that pragmatism is outweighing the emotional side of the decision."
Households spending more on rent, tax, childcare
In 2023, the average household spent 21.1% less on childcare and 3.3% less on rent than they did in 2021.
However, when considering the long-term trends since 2006, these items have seen the biggest expenditure increases. Accounting for inflation, households spent an average 38.5% more on childcare in 2023 than in 2006, and 40.5% more on rent.
The survey asked households about their expenditure on everyday items every year since 2006, allowing for analysis on household consumption in real terms.
This report features data up until 2023, capturing a large part of the recent cost of living crisis. These pressures potentially caused large mean expenditure increases between 2022 and 2023 for motor vehicle fuel (up 25.3% in 2023) and mortgage repayments (up 20.4%).
"Thanks to the growth of incomes since 2006, we can see that the average household in 2023 is still spending a slightly smaller proportion on necessities overall than they were in 2006," said report co-author Professor Roger Wilkins.
"We were slowly heading in the right direction up until 2021, but the recent cost-of-living crisis undid some of that progress in the proportion of our pay packets going towards necessities. Between 2021 and 2023, the total proportion we were spending on those necessities went up by 4.5%."
This report also saw the highest average income tax rate since the survey started in 2001.
"There were no policy changes to tax brackets over the survey period, so this increase is likely a result of 'bracket creep', meaning that Australians' incomes are increasingly being taxed at the higher marginal tax rates," said Professor Wilkins.
"This accelerated between 2021 and 2023, when wages increased considerably. Normally, wage growth is good for workers' living standards, but prices were also rising rapidly, so bracket creep contributed to a decline in workers' living standards in this period."
Australians reporting more bodily pain
A large majority of Australians (78.5% of women and 73.8% of men) reported having experienced at least some bodily pain in the four weeks before the survey, with more than a quarter of women reporting that pain as being moderate, severe, or very severe.
More than half (50.3%) of all surveyed women said that pain affected their work or household chores, at least to some degree.
Between 2001 and 2023, average pain for men rose by approximately 5.1%, while the average pain for women rose by 11.6%.
"This increase can partly be put down to an ageing population, but even when we adjust for age, we do see an increase since 2001 in average pain for both men (by 4.8%) and women (by 5.6%)," said report co-author Dr Ferdi Botha.
"People from lower income households or without a Bachelor's degree are more likely to report experiencing bodily pain. The less money you make, the more pain you're likely putting up with."
Fewer friends, less socialising contributing to well-being decline
Australians have reported having fewer friends than they did in 2001, a trend that was already on the decline but then accelerated by the COVID-19 pandemic.
On a scale of 1–7 measuring a perceived quantity of friends, the 2001 average for the total population was 4.6. By 2023, this had dropped to 4.1, a low reached during the pandemic without recovery in the years following.
"Not only do we feel like we have fewer friends, we're also socialising less frequently than in 2001. The proportion of people meeting friends or relatives several times a week or more often dropped by more than 12 percentage points, from about 32% to 20%" said Dr Inga Lass.
