Australia Yearbook - 2001

Chapter 5—Population 175
C4.9 TOTAL FERTILITY RATE, Australia—1901 to 1999
Rate(a)
4
3
The post war The baby bust Stability Decline?
baby boom
1
1901 1910 1920 1930 1939 1949 1959 1968 1978 1988 1998
(a) Average number of babies per woman according to the age-specific fertility rates for each year.
Source: CBCS Demography Bulletins; ABS Births, Australia (3301.0), various issues.
2
The year 1961 heralded a major change in
Australian society with the introduction of the
contraceptive pill, which for the first time gave
Australian women almost total control over how
many children they had and when they had them.
Australian fertility also began to fall precipitously
at this time, but this was mainly due to a major
shift in the role of women within the society
which saw larger numbers work outside of the
home and pursue education than had been the
case previously. Associated with this came
increases in age at marriage, increased divorce
and increased de facto partnering. There
were significant developments influencing
the role of women such as the removal of
gender differences in salaries for the same
work and developments toward equal
opportunity.
The dramatic shift in the role of women in
post-war Australia is evident in graph C4.10,
which also shows how female participation in
the workforce outside of the home changed
little between the 1911 and 1947 censuses.
C4.10 FEMALE LABOUR PARTICIPATION RATES, By Age, Australia—1911 to 1996
Source: Australian Censuses 1911 to 1996.