Australia’s fertility rate has collapsed – it’s time to give women real choices

Australia’s fertility rate has hit its lowest point since records began – just 1.48 births per woman.

It’s a stark reflection of how far behind our policies have fallen when it comes to supporting women and families.

For years, PreservHer’s founder, Kimberley Caines, has been warning this day would come.

Last week, in meetings at Parliament House in Canberra (pictured above), she raised this exact issue – that without national policies empowering women to plan their fertility and families, Australia’s population trajectory would continue to decline.

Women aren’t “choosing” not to have children. They’re being forced to delay motherhood by rising living costs, insecure work, and housing pressures.

Add to that the biological limits of fertility, and it’s no wonder so many women are finding themselves out of time by the time they’re ready.

Egg freezing isn’t a luxury – it’s a form of reproductive equality.

It gives women back time and choice – to pursue education, careers, or financial stability without losing the chance to have a family later.

If we empower Australian women to have children when they’re ready, rather than losing that chance altogether, we ease the pressure on migration as the only driver of population growth.

Migration is important, but it shouldn’t be a Band-Aid for a fertility crisis we could have prevented.

Kimberley has been saying this for years, and she’ll keep saying it until someone listens. Because the numbers don’t lie. The fertility rate keeps falling, the median age of new mothers keeps rising, and yet, government inaction keeps holding us back.

We can’t keep pretending this is an issue for “later”.

Later is now.