Australia

Did You Know?

Population
21.0
mil.
Visitors per year
5.6
mil.
Renewable energy
5.20
%

How’s Life?

Australia performs exceptionally well in measures of well-being, as shown by the fact that it ranks among the top countries in a large number of topics in the Better Life Index.

Money, while it cannot buy happiness, is an important means to achieving higher living standards. In Australia, the average household earned 27 039 USD in 2008, more than the OECD average.

In terms of employment, nearly 72% of people aged 15 to 64 in Australia have a paid job. People in Australia work 1690 hours a year, less than most people in the OECD. 71% of mothers are employed after their children begin school, suggesting that women are able to successfully balance family and career.

Having a good education is an important requisite to finding a job. In Australia, 70% of adults aged 25 to 64 have earned the equivalent of a high-school diploma, only slightly lower than the OECD average. Australia is a top-performing country in terms of the quality of its educational system. The average student scored 515 out of 600 in reading ability according to the latest PISA student-assessment programme, higher than the OECD average.

In terms of health, life expectancy at birth in Australia is 81.5 years, more than two years above the OECD average. The level of atmospheric PM10 – tiny air pollutant particles small enough to enter and cause damage to the lungs – is 14 micrograms per cubic meter, and is much lower than levels found in most OECD countries.

Concerning the public sphere, there is a strong sense of community and high levels of civic participation in Australia. 95% of people believe that they know someone they could rely on in a time of need, higher than the OECD average of 91%. Voter turnout, a measure of public trust in government and of citizens' participation in the political process, was 95% during recent elections; this figure is the highest in the OECD. In regards to crime, only 2% of people reported falling victim to assault over the previous 12 months.

When asked, 75% of people in Australia said they were satisfied with their life, much higher than the OECD average of 59%.

These findings are based on data from 2008 or later.

Topics

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Australia in Detail

Housing

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Key Findings

In many OECD countries, home ownership is an important dimension of individual well-being. It protects owners from fluctuations in rents and ensures families a stable and secure shelter. Additionally, the value of a property represents a major source of wealth for households. Over 64% of occupied dwellings in Australia are inhabited by the owners themselves, slightly lower than the OECD-23 average of 67%.

In addition to measuring home ownership rates, it is also important to examine living conditions, such as the average number of rooms shared per person and whether households have access to basic facilities.

The number of rooms in a dwelling, divided by the number of persons living there, indicates whether residents are living in crowded conditions. Overcrowded housing may have a negative impact on physical and mental health, relations with others and the development of children. In addition, dense living conditions are often a sign of inadequate water and sewage supply.

In Australia, the average home contains 2.4 rooms per person, more than the OECD average of 1.6 rooms per person. In terms of basic facilities, an estimated 1.2% of dwellings in Australia lack private access to indoor flushing toilets, much less than the OECD average of 2.8% dwellings.

Australia was among the nine OECD countries showing the largest increases in real housing prices – more than 90% -- over the 1980-2008 period. Significant declines in interest rates, the strong economy and high levels of immigration have all pushed prices up. A rising share of the population is being priced out of the market. Furthermore, housing supply is failing to keep up with demand. Since the mid-2000s, the demand for housing has been stimulated by strong population growth, currently 2% annually, and total population is rising by around 400 000 persons per year. Meanwhile, the annual number of housing units constructed in the country has remained broadly stable at around 150 000. Reforms are therefore needed to boost housing supply.

Data for dwellings without basic facilities in Australia rely on OECD estimates. These figures will be updated as official information becomes available.

Indicators

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Income

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Key Findings

While money may not buy happiness, it is an important means to achieving higher living standards and thus greater well-being. Higher economic wealth may also improve access to quality education, healthcare and housing.

Household net-adjusted disposable income is the amount of money that a household earns each year after tax. It represents the money available to a household for spending on goods or services. In Australia, the average household net-adjusted disposable income is 27 039 USD a year, higher than the OECD average of 22 284 USD.

Household financial wealth is the total value of a household’s financial worth. In Australia, the average household wealth is estimated at 28 745 USD, lower than the OECD average of 36 808 USD. While the ideal measure of household wealth should include real assets (e.g. land and dwellings), such information is currently available for only a small number of OECD countries.

Indicators

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Jobs

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Key Findings

Having a job brings many important benefits, including: providing a source of income, improving social inclusion, fulfilling one’s own aspirations, building self-esteem and developing skills and competencies. In Australia, nearly 72% of the working-age population aged 15 to 64 has a paid job. This figure is much higher than the OECD employment average of 65%. Roughly eight out of ten men in Australia are working, slightly above the OECD average of three out of four. 68% of Australian women have jobs, higher than the OECD average of 59%. Young Australians aged 15-24 years are also faring well, with an unemployment rate of 11.6% compared to the OECD average of 16.4%.

Unemployed persons are defined as those who are not currently working but are willing to do so and actively searching for work. Long-term unemployment can have a large negative effect on feelings of well-being and self-worth and result in a loss of skills, further reducing employability. In Australia, the percentage of the labour force that has been unemployed for a year or longer is currently at 1%, lower than the OECD average.

Indicators

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Community

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Key Findings

Humans are social creatures. The frequency of our contact with others and the quality of our personal relationships are thus crucial determinants of our well-being.

A strong social network, or community, can provide emotional support during both good and bad times as well as provide access to jobs, services and other material opportunities. In Australia, 95% of people believe that they know someone they could rely on in a time of need, higher than the OECD average. Nearly 65% reported having helped a stranger in the last month, much more than the OECD average of 47%.

A weak social network can result in limited economic opportunities, a lack of contact with others, and eventually, feelings of isolation. Socially isolated individuals face difficulties integrating into society as a contributing member and fulfilling personal aspirations. Social exclusion in Australia is an issue for several groups: those with low incomes, the unemployed, those with poor health and people not proficient in English. Most of these groups also have particular difficulty in “having a say” in their community or influencing decision makers.

Indicators

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Education

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Key Findings

A well-educated and well-trained population is essential for a country’s social and economic well-being. Education plays a key role in providing individuals with the knowledge, skills and competences needed to participate effectively in society and in the economy.  Most concretely, having a good education greatly improves the likelihood of finding a job and earning enough money. Across OECD countries, men with university-level degrees are 16% more likely to find jobs, and women are 30% more likely.   Lifetime earnings also increase with each level of education.

Following a decline in manual labour over previous decades, employers now favour a more educated labour force. High-school graduation rates therefore provide a good indication of whether a country is preparing its students to meet the minimum requirements of the job market.

In Australia, 70% of adults aged 25-64 have earned the equivalent of a high-school degree, close to the OECD average of 73%. However, among younger people – a better indicator of Australia’s future – 82% of 25-34 year-olds have earned the equivalent of a high-school degree, also close to the OECD average of 80%.

But graduation rates, while important, speak little to the quality of education received. The OECD’s Programme for International Student Assessment (PISA) reviews the extent to which students have acquired some of the knowledge and skills that are essential for full participation in modern societies.  In 2009, PISA focused on examining students’ reading ability, as research shows that reading skills are more reliable predictors of economic and social well-being than the number of years spent in school.

Australia is a top-performing OECD country in reading literacy, with the average student scoring 515 out of 600. This score is higher than the OECD average of 493, making Australia the 6th strongest OECD country in reading skills. Moreover, the gap between the high and low performing children is smaller than most.  Additionally, students in Australia performed well in mathematics, with more than 16% reaching the two highest levels of proficiency.

Although Australia’s education system fares well internationally, children from disadvantaged groups generally participate less in the important early childhood programmes and have lower test scores. Students from low socio-economic backgrounds have much lower high school completion rates and are around three times less likely to go to university than those from higher socio-economic areas.

Indicators

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Environment

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Key Findings

Outdoor air pollution is one important environmental issue that directly affects the quality of peoples’ lives. Air pollution in urban centres, often caused by transport and the use of small-scale burning of wood or coal, is linked to a range of health problems, from minor eye irritation to upper respiratory symptoms in the short-term and chronic respiratory diseases such as asthma, cardiovascular diseases and lung cancer in the long-term. Children and the elderly may be particularly vulnerable.

PM10 – tiny particulate matter small enough to be inhaled into the deepest part of the lung – is monitored in OECD countries because it can harm human health and reduce life expectancy. In Australia, PM10 levels are 14.3 micrograms per cubic meter, lower than the OECD average of 22 micrograms per cubic meter.

Indicators

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Governance

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Key Findings

A cohesive society is one where citizens have a high degree of confidence in their governmental institutions and public administration. 71% of people in Australia say they trust their political institutions, higher than the OECD average of 56%. High voter turnout is another measure of public trust in government and of citizens' participation in the political process. In the most recent elections for which data is available, voter turnout in Australia was 95% of those registered; this figure is the highest in the OECD area.

While voter turnout is indeed compulsory (and strongly enforced) in Australia, it is nevertheless a useful measure of citizen engagement. In the context of the Better Life Index, voter turn-out measures how civic engagement contributes to the well-being of people and the society. From this perspective, the Australian political system performs well in the sense that it reflects the will of a very large number of individuals (irrespective of what drives high participation).

Ensuring that government decision making is not compromised by conflicts of interest is key to maintaining trust in government. Transparency is therefore essential to hold government to account and to maintain confidence in public institutions.

Freedom of information laws (FOI) allows the possibility for individuals to access undisclosed information. For such policies to be successful, the public should have a clear understanding of their rights under the law, should be able to file requests with ease and should be protected against any possible retaliation. People in Australia can file a request for information either in writing, online, or in person – thus greatly facilitating the FOI process. However, there are no provisions for anonymity or protection from retaliation.

Indicators

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Health

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Key Findings

Most OECD countries have enjoyed large gains in life expectancy over the past decades, thanks to improvements in living conditions, public health interventions and progress in medical care. In 2008, life expectancy at birth in Australia stood at 81.5 years, more than two years higher than the OECD average.

Higher life expectancy is generally associated with higher healthcare spending per person, although many other factors have an impact on life expectancy (such as living standards, lifestyles, education and environmental factors). Total health spending accounted for 8.5% of GDP in Australia in 2007–08, slightly lower than the average of 9.0% in OECD countries. However, Australia ranks above the OECD average in terms of total health spending per person.

Throughout the OECD, tobacco consumption and excessive weight gain remain two important risk factors for many chronic diseases. Australia provides an example of a country that has achieved remarkable progress in reducing tobacco consumption, cutting by half the percentage of adults who smoke daily (from 35.4% in 1983 to 16.6% in 2007).

The smoking rate among adults in Australia is now one of the lowest in OECD countries, behind only Sweden and the United States. Much of this decline in Australia can be attributed to policies aimed at reducing tobacco consumption through public awareness campaigns, advertising bans and increased taxation.

Obesity rates are high in Australia, relative to most OECD countries, and they have been increasing faster than in any other OECD country in the last 20 years. One in 2 people is overweight in Australia. Obesity’s growing prevalence foreshadows increases in the occurrence of health problems (such as diabetes, cardiovascular diseases and asthma), and higher health care costs in the future.

When asked, "How is your health in general?", 85% of people in Australia reported to be in good health, higher than the OECD average of 69%. Despite the subjective nature of this question, the answers have been found to be a good predictor of people’s future health care use.

Indicators

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Life Satisfaction

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Key Findings

Happiness can be measured in terms of life satisfaction, the presence of positive experiences and feelings, and the absence of negative experiences and feelings. Such measures, while subjective, are a useful complement to compare the quality of life across countries.

For Australia, which is characterized by high incomes and strong GDP growth over the past decade, self-reported life satisfaction is above the OECD average with Australia ranked eleventh within the OECD in 2008. In recent polling, 75% were satisfied with their life and 83% believe that their life will be satisfying five years later.

74% of people in Australia reported having more positive experiences in an average day (feelings of rest, pride in accomplishment, enjoyment, etc) than negative ones (pain, worry, sadness, boredom, etc). This figure is higher than the OECD average of 72%.

Indicators

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Safety

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Key Findings

Personal security is a core element for the well-being of individuals, and largely reflects the risks of people being physically assaulted or falling victim to other types of crime. Across the OECD, victimisation rates for conventional crime (theft, robbery, assault) have declined in the new millennium. In Australia, 2% of people reported falling victim to assault over the previous 12 months, lower than the OECD average of 4%. 27% of people feel unsafe on the street after dark, slightly higher than the OECD average of 26%.

The homicide rate (the number of murders per 100,000 inhabitants) is a more reliable measure of a country’s safety level because, unlike other crimes, murders are usually always reported to the police. According to the latest OECD data, Australia’s homicide rate is 1.2, lower than the OECD average.

Indicators

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Work-Life Balance

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Key Findings

Finding a suitable balance between work and life is a challenge for all workers, especially working parents. Some couples would like to have (more) children, but do not see how they could afford to stop working. Other parents are happy with the number of children in their family, but would like to work more. This is a challenge to governments because if parents cannot achieve their desired work/life balance, not only is their welfare lowered but so is development in the country.

In Australia, 71% of mothers are employed after their children begin school; this figure is higher than the OECD average of 66% and suggests that mothers are able to successfully balance family and career.

Another important aspect of work-life balance is the amount of time a person spends at work. Evidence suggests that long work hours may impair personal health, jeopardize safety and increase stress. People in Australia work 1690 hours a year, lower than the OECD average of 1739 hours.

The more people work, the less time they have to spend on other activities, such as time with others or leisure. The amount and quality of leisure time is important for people’s overall well-being, and can bring additional physical and mental health benefits. People in Australia devote 63% of their day, or 15.1 hours, to personal care (eating, sleeping, etc.) and leisure (socializing with friends and family, hobbies, games, computer and television use, etc.) – close to the OECD average.

Better Policies for Better Lives

Helping single parents find paid work

Australia performs well on a number of important outcomes of work-life balance: fertility (1.9 children per women) is above the OECD average (1.7), the female employment rate (66.2%) has been rising steadily since the 1960s and is now well above OECD average (59.6%), and the gender wage gap (12%) is below average (16%). Unlike many other OECD countries, mothers often return to full-time work once their children reach schooling age.

However, joblessness among sole parent families is a significant problem. At just over 50% in 2009 the sole-parent employment rate is one of the lowest in the OECD, which contributes to an above average poverty rate for sole-parent families. This issue is of particular concern as around one in five children live in such households, and projections show that the number is likely to increase by 20% over the next 25 years. Australian policy should therefore continue to support work, training or job search requirements for recipients of sole-parent benefits.

Australia does well for most of its children as measured by outcomes within the three key dimensions of material well-being, education and health. The child poverty rate has fallen over the last 10 years and is now below the OECD average, PISA reading scores are above the OECD average, older children are less likely to be out of education or employment, and the incidence of infant deaths has also seen a large decline.

Despite above average public expenditure on families, Australia spends less on childcare services than most OECD countries: 0.4% of GDP compared with the OECD average of 0.6%. This has contributed to low childcare enrolment rates for young children, with only 40% of children aged less than six years enrolled in formal childcare. Australia should consider extending its childcare support programmes to provide more help to working parents.

Indicators

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