Australia forecasts deaths to outnumber births by 2060s
Treasury report projects slower population growth due to declining fertility and migration.
AI-assisted coverage comparison, editor-supervised · How this was made
For decades, Australia has sustained population growth by relying on immigration to offset low birth rates. (EPA Images pic)
Photograph: Free Malaysia Today News (embedded from source)
What this story says
- Australia's Treasury department has published an Intergenerational Report forecasting demographic shifts over the next four decades.
- The report projects deaths will outnumber births for the first time in the 2060s, leading to slower population growth.
- An ageing population is expected to triple the number of Australians over 85 by 2066, increasing demand on health services.
- The government has recently tightened immigration rules amid concerns about political pressure for reduced immigration.
Who covered it
Percentages are shares of the 7 outlets carrying a published leaning rating. 1 of the 8 outlets we know ran this story carry no rating and are not counted in them. Coverage measured .
Trust
60/100
Craft
70/100
Hype
20/100
8 sources · methodology
Thin on the left so far
None of the 7 outlets with a published leaning rating that ran this story are rated left.
This story is still being watched, so it is a count and not yet a finding. Coverage keeps arriving for hours after an event, and a side that has published nothing this morning may publish by tonight. If it is still true when we stop checking, we will say so plainly.
Australia's Treasury department has published an Intergenerational Report forecasting demographic shifts over the next four decades. The report projects that deaths will outnumber births for the first time in the 2060s. Population growth is expected to slow to 0.9% annually due to declining fertility rates and falling net overseas migration. The number of Australians over 85 is projected to triple by 2066, increasing demand on health services.
The report identifies artificial intelligence, geopolitical fragmentation, the energy transition, an ageing population, and a shift to a service-based economy as five consequential transformations facing the country's economic outlook. The government has tightened immigration rules amid concerns about a surge in support for parties advocating for reduced immigration.
Disagreement on report details
Free Malaysia Today and Channel News Asia reported that the Intergenerational Report flagged tax cuts in future budgets as the government provides cost-of-living relief. Neither thairath.co.th, The Straits Times, BizToc, WTVB, nor Market Screener mentioned tax cuts in their digests.
What the coverage left out
None of the left-rated reports mentioned the story. The right-rated digests from thairath.co.th, The Straits Times, and BizToc did not mention the projected tripling of Australians over 85 by 2066, a detail included in the centre-rated reports and Free Malaysia Today's full report.
Still developing. We have re-checked which outlets are covering this 2 times, most recently on 21 Sept 2026, 04:15, and will add the sides that appear.
How other outlets pictured it
Which photograph to run is each newsroom’s own choice. The leaning beside a name is that outlet’s published rating, not a claim that the pictures divide along it. Every picture is shown from the outlet’s own server and links to the article it ran in.
Shoppers walk through Pitt Street Mall, in Sydney, Australia, on Sep 17, 2026. (File photo: Reuters/Hollie Adams)
Channel News Asia — embedded from source
How each side covered it
Our own reading of the reporting listed below, written from the outlets’ articles rather than quoted from them. The reasoning is set out on our methodology page.
Left
0 rated outlets
No outlet rated left has run this story so far. We are still checking, and will say plainly if that does not change.
Centre
4 rated outlets
- Centre-rated reports from Channel News Asia, WTVB, and Market Screener led on the forecast that deaths will exceed births for the first time in the 2060s. These reports also highlighted the projected tripling of Australians over 85 by 2066 and the resulting increased demand on health services. They noted the government's tightening of immigration rules in response to political pressure. Free Malaysia Today, also rated centre, included these points and additionally mentioned that the report flagged tax cuts in future budgets as the government provides cost-of-living relief.
Right
3 rated outlets
- Right-rated reports from Free Malaysia Today, thairath.co.th, and The Straits Times led on the warning of risks from an ageing population and falling birth rates. These reports highlighted the projection that deaths will surpass births for the first time in the 2060s and the slowing population growth. Free Malaysia Today and The Straits Times noted the government's tightening of immigration rules, with Free Malaysia Today specifying this was to counter support for parties advocating reduced immigration. Free Malaysia Today also reported that the Intergenerational Report flagged tax cuts in future budgets.
Questions about this coverage
- How did the left and right cover Australia forecasts deaths to outnumber births by 2060s?
- Of the 7 outlets on this story carrying a published leaning rating, 0% are rated left, 57% are rated centre, 43% are rated right. Those percentages are shares of the rated outlets, not of every outlet that ran it, which was 8. The sections above set out what each side emphasised, in its own terms.
- Is Australia forecasts deaths to outnumber births by 2060s left or right?
- Too few of the outlets on this story carry a published leaning rating to say. 7 of them do, and this site does not characterise a field under 12: at that size one newsroom filing moves the share by ten points. The percentages above are the count as it stands.
- Is the coverage of Australia forecasts deaths to outnumber births by 2060s biased?
- Australia forecasts deaths to outnumber births by 2060s is one event reported by 8 outlets, and this page does not rate the story as biased or unbiased. What it publishes is the spread: which outlets ran it, where named rating organisations place each of them on the spectrum, and what each side chose to lead with. A leaning rating describes an outlet's record over time, not this article, and the two should not be run together.
- Which side is not reporting Australia forecasts deaths to outnumber births by 2060s?
- When we first saw this story, outlets rated left had barely covered it. Coverage accretes for hours after an event, so that is where to look rather than a verdict — the split above is the current count, and it is the one to read.
- Which outlets covered Australia forecasts deaths to outnumber births by 2060s?
- 8 that we know of, every one of them listed further up this page with a link to its own report and to what we hold on the publisher. Nothing here is a summary of somebody else's summary: the outlets are named so the original reporting can be read.
- When will deaths outnumber births in Australia?
- Australia's Treasury department forecasts that deaths will outnumber births for the first time in the 2060s. This demographic shift is a key finding of the Intergenerational Report, which projects slower population growth due to declining fertility and migration.
- What are the main concerns highlighted in the report?
- The report highlights an ageing population, with the number of Australians over 85 projected to triple by 2066, increasing demand on health services. It also forecasts slower population growth due to declining birth rates and net overseas migration.
- Has the Australian government changed immigration rules?
- Yes, the government has tightened immigration rules. This action was taken as Prime Minister Anthony Albanese seeks to counter a rise in support for parties advocating for reduced immigration, a factor contributing to the slowing net overseas migration.
Read it at the source
8 outlets, grouped by the leaning a published rating gives them. Every headline links to the original; an underlined outlet name opens our profile of that publisher.
Left
0No outlet in this group ran the story.
Centre
4- Australia warns of risks from ageing population, falling birth rates (opens Channel News Asia in a new tab)
Channel News Asia — is Channel News Asia biased? Our profile of this outlet
- Australia warns of risks from ageing population, falling birth rates (opens WTVB in a new tab)
- Australia warns of risks from ageing population, falling birth rates (opens Market Screener in a new tab)
Market Screener — is Market Screener biased? Our profile of this outlet
- Australia warns of risks from ageing population, falling birth rates (opens Reuters in a new tab)
Right
3- Australia Warns of an Aging Population Crisis, with Deaths Poised to Surpass Births for the First Time in the 2060s. (opens thairath.co.th in a new tab)
thairath.co.th — is thairath.co.th biased? Our profile of this outlet
- Australia warns of risks from ageing population, falling birth rates (opens Free Malaysia Today News in a new tab)
Free Malaysia Today News — is Free Malaysia Today News biased? Our profile of this outlet
- Australia warns of risks from ageing population, falling birth rates (opens The Straits Times in a new tab)
The Straits Times — is The Straits Times biased? Our profile of this outlet
Not rated
1How did this read?
About the coverage, not about the story. We do not ask whether you agree with what happened — we have no honest use for that answer.
