Over the past decade, the fertility of women in South Australia remained steady while it continued to decline in all other States and Territories. The median age of parents has steadily increased over the past two decades. In 1978 the median age of mothers was 26.3 years, increasing to 29.5 years in 1998. The median age of fathers increased from 29.2 years in 1978 to 32.0 years in 1998. The median age of Indigenous mothers was much lower at 24.6 years.
Births are the main component of population growth.
However the number of registered births in Australia has continued to fall throughout the 1990s despite an increase in the number of women of reproductive age. Since then the number of births has fallen to 249,600 in 1998. Four per cent of total births were identified as Indigenous, and fertility of Indigenous women is estimated to be at least 2.2 births per woman. Indigenous babies were lighter, with an average birth weight of 3,140 grams compared to 3,360 grams for all babies. A summary of the publication may be found on this site.