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Birth rate lowest in 10 years

Australia’s birth rate is the lowest in almost a decade, with fertility rates falling across the country, according to new data from the Australian Bureau of Statistics.

Women are also waiting until their late 20s to start families, with the average age of new mothers in 2013 at 29.

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Despite the continuing drop in birth rates, older mothers aged between 40 and 44 years buck the trend, with fertility rates for mums in their 40s the highest since the 1970s.

“Over the past 30 years, fertility rates for these older mums have nearly tripled, and today’s results see the trend continuing,” ABS spokesperson Denise Carlton said.

The average age of mothers in 2013 was 30.8 while the average age of fathers was 33.

New South Wales had the largest amount of babies born in 2013, at more than 100,000, while only 4053 babies were born in the Northern Territory.

Victoria has the lowest fertility rate nationally, with only 1.7 children per woman, while the Northern Territory has the highest, with 2.1 babies per woman.

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