Australia is a sovereign country located “down under” in the Southern Hemisphere and is the largest country in Oceania which homes the Australia mainland continent, Tasmania and a variety of other small islands. Australia was first inhabited by indigenous Australians until the British arrived in the late 18th century where they then split the country into six colonies including New South Wales, Victoria, Queensland, South Australia, Western Australia and Tasmania. These colonies eventually united to form the Commonwealth of Australia. Although Australia still lacks a growth in wages and salaries and has limited affordable housing, it has other highly developed aspects of living. These are the top 10 facts about living conditions in Australia.

10 Facts About Living Conditions in Australia

1. Education is High-Quality – The average student scored a 499 in subjects such as reading literacy, math and sciences in the Programme for International Student Assessment, an impressive score above the OECD average of 488. Of note, 84 percent of adults have completed upper secondary education.
2. Life Expectancy is Continuously Increasing – Thanks to improvements within the public health care sector and progressions in medical care, life expectancy is improving with a significant increase over the past few decades. Life expectancy stands at 83 years of age, two years higher than the average of 81 years in OECD countries. Notably, the country provides mental health interventions and headspace centers to adolescents for a more healthy upbringing to decrease the number of suicides.
3. Air Quality Ranks High – Australia’s government has taken drastic measures to reduce air pollution, implementing the National Clean Air Agreement. The country’s livability has increased and impacted health and produced a positive environment despite a few concerns of high peaking airborne pollutants in some cities.
4. Water Quality is Sufficient in Some Areas – In urban areas, 90 percent of Australians have access to acceptable water quality. However, in South Australia and Western Australia, the level of satisfaction with water quality was below 70 percent. Due to the continuous change in climate, local water utility companies have to make a few accommodations on account of quality resulting in some areas failing acceptable water standards, such as Southern and Western Australia.
5. Home Affordability is Declining – In Australia, owning a home is a main priority, but the number of homeowners has had a significant decrease since the 1980s due to high interest rates and an increase in housing prices in areas like Sydney. Due to this, there is an increase in household renters from 26 percent to 31 percent.
6. Wages and Salaries are Declining – Australia measures wages and salary by average weekly earnings. Since the mid-70s, there has been a decline in reported earnings because of higher tax brackets and an increase in unemployment rates which suppress wages. There are also more people who are willing to work part-time jobs versus full-time employment.
7. Crimes are Increasing – There are more crimes being reported in Australia than before. This ultimately affects the standard of living considering people do not feel as safe and secure. Burglary and assault are the main crimes that have increased dramatically with robberies increasing from 23 to 113 per 1,000 people and assaults increased from 90 to 689 per thousand of the population. Communities are addressing crimes by implementing situational crime prevention interventions by strengthening locks and improving surveillance.
8. The Economy is Growing – As one of the wealthiest Asian-Pacific countries, Australia is an attractive place for investment considering the government is helping with the entrepreneurial development. Australia’s economic freedom score is 80.9 making it the fifth highest in 2019 for factors such as labor freedom and trade freedom.
9. Quality of Life is High – Australia’s HDI is the second highest in the world behind Norway. Because it is a liberal and democratic nation along with its warm climate, 43 percent of Australians aged 18 and over are mostly satisfied with their standard of living.
10. High Poverty Rates for Children – In 2018, three million Australians were living below the poverty line of a 50 percent median income including 17.3 percent children. Those that are living deep in poverty are surviving with $135 less a week than the median income and are relying on Government Assistance payments.

Living conditions in Australia compared to the rest of the world rank high. Education is abundant and most Australians find their standards of living satisfying. However, these 10 facts of living conditions in Australia portray the need for improvement in water quality and poverty rates that are affecting the everyday lives of Australian citizens.

– Jessica Curney
Photo: Flickr