I was wrong on Baby Bonus, says Stanley

5 Nov 2010, 5:30 pm   -   Source: AAP
Share This

A study into the effect of the Baby Bonus on birth rates has turned up some surprising results, an Australian researcher says.

Australia's "Baby Bonus" has not lived up to concerns it would spark a baby boom among those households who could least afford another mouth to feed.

Latest research out of Western Australia has confirmed the scheme had the opposite effect, with the biggest jump in births seen among those families living in "high socio-economic areas".

Professor Fiona Stanley, from Perth's Telethon Institute for Child Health Research, admits to being a former sceptic of the scheme, which pays out thousands of dollars on the birth of a child.

"I actually said as much to some of the Canberra bureaucrats, I said `I don't know if this is a good thing - we'll get a higher proportion of higher-risk mothers delivering'," Prof Stanley told AAP on Friday.

"And that `if you do want to increase the birth rate it should be with low risk mothers as well'.

"I've had to eat my words - the greatest increase was in mothers in lowest risk."

Prof Stanley points to research, led by the institute's Dr Amanda Langridge, which gauged the effect of the Baby Bonus on WA's birth rate.

The state's fertility rate was in gradual decline over the decade from 1995 but it sharply increased after the Baby Bonus started to be paid from July, 2004.

The fertility rate had inched down over the years to 52.2 births per thousand women of reproductive age in 2004, but this figure jumped to 55.2 in 2005 and surged again to 58.6 in 2006.

Prof Stanley said the greatest increase in births was seen in women who lived in the highest socio-economic areas.

These women had the lowest general fertility rate (21.5 births per 1000 women) in 2004 but the highest in 2006 (38.1 births per 1000 women).

Rather than just introduce a financial incentive to have children, Prof Stanley said it appeared the Baby Bonus prompted a deeper re-assessment of the "value of parenting" by all couples.

More women aged 20 to 29 years, generally those with higher levels of education and living in more affluent areas, had a baby after the scheme was introduced, she said.

"The greatest increases were in the lowest risk (mums) which I found absolutely against what we had all predicted," Prof Stanley said.

"I was proved wrong ... It just shows you the power of doing research."

The Baby Bonus was originally paid at $3000 but it was increased over the years to just over $5000, and a means test now applies.

The research was published online in the Journal of Epidemiology and Community Health.

  • Follow us: 
  • Follow us on Facebook
  • Follow us on Twitter
  • Follow us on Youtube