Population, Ageing and Retirement
Western Australia’s population is projected to more than double to over 5 million by 2050. Most of this growth is projected to occur in Perth, with the regional areas recording a smaller growth. The population is also ageing, with median ages rising and life expectancies increasing. The Baby Boomer cohort – born during the post World War II fertility boom – is streaming into retirement and entering old age. This research theme explores how changing population dynamics will affect all aspects of life in the WA and Australian community. These include the impacts of population growth and ageing on economic and social participation, quality of life, health and care needs, housing needs, financial security, and mobility within and across states and territories. Projects and publications under this theme produce evidence-based analysis to inform policies that aim to harness the opportunities and address the challenges brought on by changing demographic trends in WA and nationally.
Related Projects
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Rental stock dynamics in Australia: Building an evidence base for policy action
Designing integrated, person-centred models through population and health planning
Family influence on volunteering participation in Western Australia
Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Australians and the superannuation system
Strategies to enhance housing security for WA’s older renters
Inside the black box: Intra-household resource allocations of older couples
Related Publications
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This report examines the landscape of volunteering in Australia, with a particular focus on Western Australia. It explores the intergenerational transmission of volunteering activities and the socioeconomic drivers that influence volunteering activities at the extensive and intensive margins. Utilising data... Read article
Housing asset-based welfare has long been a key component of Australia’s social policy. This resonates with a parallel literature identifying a trade-off between homeownership and the size of nations’ welfare states, wherein owner-occupiers in smaller welfare states tend to come... Read article
Household wealth in Australia has grown strongly over the past two decades, supported by rising housing values, expanding superannuation balances and sustained asset price growth. But this growth has not been evenly distributed across the population or across the life... Read article
View the slides by lead report author Professor Alan Duncan, Director, Bankwest Curtin Economics Centre from the launch of the report Every Person Counts: Planning for WA’s future population. About the report This twentieth report in the BCEC’s Focus on Western... Read article
Executive Summary To understand and prepare for Western Australia’s future, we must look beyond headline population counts and examine the forces that shape how, where and why the state grows. Population change is not just a demographic outcome. It reflects... Read article
Executive Summary To understand and prepare for Western Australia’s future, we must look beyond headline population counts and examine the forces that shape how, where and why the state grows. Population change is not just a demographic outcome. It reflects... Read article
The Bankwest Curtin Economics Centre team acknowledges the Wadjuk Nyungar people as the traditional owners of the land on which the Centre is situated.