Households without children on the increase: Fraser

March 21, 2007

Households without children on the increase: Fraser

Households without children will become more common than the traditional family-with-kids residence in Queensland over the next five years.

In fact by 2026, more than three in every five – or 61 per cent – of all Queensland households will contain just one person or a couple without children, according to the latest Household Projections – Queensland Local Government Areas 2007 publication released today.

Launching the report, Local Government and Planning Minister Andrew Fraser said the change would have significant implications for planning across the state.

“These new figures show that there are 453,600 couple without children households and 435,700 couple with children households,” Mr Fraser said.

“What this means is that for the first time in our history, the traditional household containing mum and dad and their kids is no longer the most comon type of household in Queensland.

“The publication projects that by 2026, 739,700 households will be couples without children – making them the most common type in Queensland - followed by 722,900 lone-person households and 525,900 households with couples with children.

“Government at all levels, as well as private and community sector organisations will need to take this pattern of growth and the projected changes in demand for housing stock into account when planning for the future.”

Mr Fraser said the projections in the report would have social and economic implications spanning geographic and administrative boundaries.

“Managing these impacts in a sustainable manner will require a collaborative approach to planning at all levels.

“In particular, local and regional planning efforts need to take into account the finding that many local government areas with declining or low population growth will still experience an increase in household numbers by 2026.

“Much of this growth will consist of older households with only one or two people, which will present further challenges in respect to the provision of housing, aged care and health services in the future.

“The report highlights that Queensland’s coastal centres, which are currently attracting an influx of people including retirees, are likely to experience rapid ageing and higher growth in lone person and couple without children households.

“Other areas, such as the Gold Coast, Caboolture and Pine Rivers, that have sizeable stocks of greenfield land will record a substantial increase in the number of couple with children households.

“However, much of the growth in family households with children is planned to occur in areas such as the Brisbane to Ipswich corridor.”

The highlights of the report include:

• Queensland will have almost 2.4 million households by 2026 – an increase of more than 1 million since 2001, or 73 per cent

• The number of households will grow at a faster rate (73 per cent) than the population (54 per cent) between 2001 and 2026;

• Population ageing will contribute to a larger number of smaller households as the “baby boomer” generation moves into retirement age – ageing will create more “empty nest” households, while improved longevity will lead to an increase in lone-person households;

• Nearly every local government area in Queensland will have more households by 2026;

• The highest household growth to 2026 will occur in South East Queensland, with the Gold Coast (130,260 more households) and Ipswich (93,608) set to outgrow Brisbane (89,359);

• The highest proportional household growth between 2006 and 2026 will occur in Ipswich (170 per cent increase) and Beaudesert (147 per cent increase) shires, as greenfield sites in the region are progressively developed.

Media contact Chris Taylor 3227 8825