New ABS Data Shows Average Age of NSW Has Officially Hit 40

The official motto of New South Wales is Orta Recens Quam Pura Nites, Latin for ‘Newly Risen, How Brightly You Shine’. Yet, slowly, the state’s population is getting older, with the average age officially hitting 40.

The increase in the 2024 figure released by the Australia Bureau of Statistics compared to that from the year prior is minuscule, but enough to move the average age of Australia’s earliest state from 39.95 to 40.05.

New average age of 40 following the aging trend of NSW

The latest figure is a continuation of a decades-long trend across the country. New South Wales’ average age in 2005 was 37.72, and 39.59 in 2020. Tasmania was the first state to crack the milestone in 2012, followed in 2013 by South Australia.

Over time, the increasing average age of the New South Wales and Australian population will bring with it significant societal implications. Daniel Gannon, executive director of the Retirement Living Council which represents the retirement housing sector, stressed the policy challenges that an aging population brings.

“We know our healthcare systems are already struggling under the weight of increasing demand and there aren’t enough homes on the market that offer viable right-sizing options for older people,” Gannon said.

“By 2040, the number of over 75s across New South Wales will skyrocket from more than 670,000 to almost 1.2 million people, bringing with it obvious challenges for age-friendly housing supply, hospital and aged care bed availability.”

NSW services not ready for population getting older

Gannon said that New South Wales, in common with the rest of the country, is not ready for the “significant spike in demand” for such housing and services which will occur in the coming decades.

New South Wales is also losing young residents to other parts of the country as a result of cost of living pressures, a trend which if continued will compound the policy challenges the state will face.

Overseas, aging populations in industrialised nations have become salient subjects in discussions concerning migration, most particularly in Japan. Entrepreneur Dick Smith recently touched on both.

“We are going to have to cope with an ageing population and with artificial intelligence and modern automation, we can do that – but we should stop the enormous growth at the moment,” Smith opined.

These difficulties are overshadowed, however, by what is ultimately good news – Australians are living longer. 

Among the policies enacted by the Commonwealth Government is increased funding for in-home care, with the goal of allowing elderly Australians to continue living at home.