Australia is becoming the country of choice to raise a family.
Australia is becoming an increasingly popular destination for families emigrating abroad. In figures released by the Australian Department of Immigration, 37,879 child migrants aged between 0 and 14 arrived in Australia with their parents in 2007/8, this is an increase from previous years.
The UK remains the highest population of migrants heading for Australia, with 1,317,419 entering Australia in 2007/8.
Demand for family visas are also up 9.3% in 2008/9 compared with the previous year.
So what makes Australia such a hit with families? Well lifestyle is the main reason. The pace of life in Australia is much slower and more relaxed and the better weather means that children have a healthier outdoors lifestyle.
Compared to the UK, children in Australia watch less television per week and spend less time on computer games, but more time doing activities such as cycling. In South Australia 64% of children regularly went cycling, 70% of boys did sporting activities after school, as did 58% of girls. (Australian Bureau of Statistics 2006.)
Australia also has higher breastfeeding rates than those in the UK. In 2004/5 88% of babies up to 3 years of age had been breastfed at some point in their lives. And over half of all children aged 4-6 months were still being breastfed. Compare that to just 3% of British babies being breastfed at 5 months.
There is arguably a much higher standard of living in Australia, largely thanks to its robust economy. Australia remains the only developed nation not to have officially retreated into recession, and indeed it looks as though it may lead the way into global recovery as the Australian dollar is now increasing in value.
The strong economy also means that the government has made sizeable investments in education and healthcare. The Australian equivalent of the NHS is Medicare, who provide free hospital treatment to Australian citizens and subsidised prescriptions.
Financially you may also be better off if you have a family in Australia. The government introduced a baby bonus scheme in 2004 which entitles the parents to a one off payment of around £2,679 broken down into 13 installments, for each baby. This is to help with the costs of having a newborn baby.
Working parents or sole parents are also entitled to Family Tax Benefit. This also applies if your partner is working and you are a stay at home mum. This benefit is dependant on how much you and/or your partner earns and works a little like the Working Families Tax Credit in the UK. Single income families also benefit from a Family Bonus, which is a single payment of £465 per family. Back to School bonus payments are also available to low income families.
Many see the generous payments as an incentive to parents to have children, as Australia compared to other developed countries, is categorised as an ageing country, with just 1.4 births per woman in 2005. The government, therefore, are keen to encourage families to migrate to Australia.
One family who recently relocated to Australia are the Groundwater family who share their experiences of moving to Australia.
What are your thoughts on this story? Is Australia the best place in which to raise children? Let us know your comments by using the comments box below. And if you want to talk to other families in Australia, why not join our vibrant Embrace Community!
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4 Responses to “Australia the Best Place to Live for Families”
Comment by Trisha — September 12, 2009 @ 10:53 am
I fully agree. The UK is overcrowded, education is terrible, our children have far too much pressure put on them at an early age and the sexualisation of children in this country is appauling. I daren’t let my kids play outside because of all the needles and beer bottles in the park. If I had a chance to live in Australia I’d take it like a shot!
Comment by Dominic — September 12, 2009 @ 10:55 am
That is a ridiculous statement. It’s down to the parents, not where the kids live. you get child abuse cases in Oz too you know, right now the aboriginees are having their kids taken off them left right and centre. Oz is no safer than anywhere else.
Comment by Mahinda — November 8, 2009 @ 6:09 pm
Thank God,If we,low income people,too have easy access to the dreemland of Australia without much testomonials of our richness.
Comment by VLS — December 5, 2009 @ 6:29 am
“aboriginal kids taken off them left right and centre” Sorry but that is not a correct statement!! I dont think the settlers to Australia have anything to be proud of in regards to the taking of the land and later on the children, but every country has its piece of history not to be proud of. Fact is it was still happening on occassion up until the late 1960′s, mostly due to the fact that the British introduced the alcohol and did not understand the way of life of the native people. Any Aussie will tell you though, Australia is the most diverse, multicultural society in the world. And we integrate very well with people from all walks of life. There’s a few facts for you!!