Australian families are changing, with the concept of family no longer represented by the ‘traditional’ nuclear family of Mum, Dad and two kids. Families now come in all shapes and sizes—blended, extended, one mum, one dad, two mums and two dads.
Fewer of us are getting married, and when we do, we’re getting married much later—and the divorce rate has stabilised. We are having fewer children and the number of blended and step-families has increased. Taking a step back, what does it mean to be a family? The Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS) says a family is two or more people, one of whom is aged 15 years and over, who live together and are related by blood, marriage (registered or de facto), adoption, step or fostering.
Family households have been declining over the past quarter of a century, comprising around 77 per …show more content…
As our population ages, single person households have also increased and group households 1 have remained relatively stable.
There were 5.68 million Australian families in 2011. Couple families comprised the largest share, with
37.8 per cent couple only and 36.7 per cent couple with dependent children 2 families (Figure 1). Since
1986, couple only households have increased and couples with dependent children decreased as a proportion of all families. One parent families have increased from 7.8 per cent in 1986 to 10.6 per
Fewer of us are getting married, and when we do, we’re getting married much later—and the divorce rate has stabilised. We are having fewer children and the number of blended and step-families has increased. Taking a step back, what does it mean to be a family? The Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS) says a family is two or more people, one of whom is aged 15 years and over, who live together and are related by blood, marriage (registered or de facto), adoption, step or fostering.
Family households have been declining over the past quarter of a century, comprising around 77 per …show more content…
As our population ages, single person households have also increased and group households 1 have remained relatively stable.
There were 5.68 million Australian families in 2011. Couple families comprised the largest share, with
37.8 per cent couple only and 36.7 per cent couple with dependent children 2 families (Figure 1). Since
1986, couple only households have increased and couples with dependent children decreased as a proportion of all families. One parent families have increased from 7.8 per cent in 1986 to 10.6 per