Children off the agenda

IN the future, families will be less likely to contain mum, dad and two kids. In fact, by the year 2029, there will be more couples without kids than couples with kids, Australian Bureau of Statistics data shows.

Last year, 44 per cent of families were couples with children, down from 54 per cent in 1996, and 41 per cent of families were couples without kids, up from 35 per cent.

“But the number of couple families without children is projected to overtake the number of couple families with children and become the most common family type in Australia between 2023 and 2029,” ABS spokesman Stephen Collett said.