The Australian government’s latest intergenerational report forecasts that life expectancy in Australia will rise, reaching nearly 90 years for women by 2065/66 and 86 years for men, up from current levels of about 86 and 82 respectively. This increase is attributed to the country's universal healthcare system and advancements in medical research. However, the report also predicts a slower population growth rate due to declining fertility rates, with the total population expected to be around 39.3 million by 2065/66, lower than previous forecasts. Treasurer Jim Chalmers emphasized the need for continued investment in healthcare services and noted that while these trends present challenges, they also indicate a better-prepared future for Australians.
Written locally by qwen2.5:14b on 2026-09-20,
using this article's own text rather than the other coverage of the
same event (that is the story summary below).
Story summary
The Australian Treasury released an extract from its latest intergenerational report, which projects that by 2065/66, life expectancy at birth will reach nearly 90 years for women, up from about 86 years, and 86 years for men, up from 82 years. This rise in life expectancy is attributed to Australia's universal healthcare system and advancements in medical research. However, Treasurer Jim Chalmers acknowledged that an ageing population will create long-term budget pressures, necessitating further investments in Medicare and the Pharmaceutical Benefits Scheme. Meanwhile, the Australian Medical Association chief, Danielle McMullen, highlighted the importance of ensuring these extra years are lived healthily, stressing the need for effective healthcare policies to combat chronic diseases and mental illness among older Australians.
Written for “Australian Life Expectancy Rising” on 2026-10-05,
grounded in this article and the 1 other(s) covering the same event.
Australian households will shrink but more people can expect to live well into their 90s, according to the latest update to forecasts of the country’s long-term future.
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people → shrink → future
Treasury’s latest intergenerational report, to be published in full on Monday, will project the impact of government policies 40 years into the future.
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report → publish → future
An extract released on Sunday showed life expectancy at birth was forecast to reach almost 90 for women by 2065/66, up from about 86 years at present.
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expectancy → release → present
Life expectancy for men was predicted to rise to 86 years in the next four decades, up from 82 years.
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expectancy → predict → years
Australia’s universal healthcare system and the impact of medical research were the key drivers of rising life expectancy, the treasurer, Jim Chalmers, said.
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treasurer → rise → expectancy
The report laid out the case for further investments in Medicare, the Pharmaceutical Benefits Scheme and the recent rollout of urgent care clinics, he said.
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he → lay → clinics
But a growing and ageing population would also be at the centre of long-term budget pressures, Chalmers told News24’s Sunday Agenda program.
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Chalmers → grow → program
“There are elements of the intergenerational report which are confronting, but it’s not a pessimistic report … because Australians are genuinely better placed and better prepared for all of this accelerating change that we are seeing,” he said.
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he → be → that
Australia’s population is expected to be slightly lower by the mid-2060s than forecast in the previous intergenerational report, released in 2023.
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population → expect → 2023
Population growth was expected to slow to 0.9% a year over the next four decades, down from 1.4% annually in the previous 40 years, according to Treasury forecasts.
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growth → expect → forecasts
The nation’s population was predicted to reach 39.3 million by 2065/66, 1.8 million lower than the 2023 forecast.
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population → predict → forecast
Much of the slowdown in population growth was tied to lower fertility rates as women continued to have fewer children.
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women → tie → children
“Almost half the decline in fertility rates is actually because fewer people are having three or more kids and what that reflects is mums having fewer kids later in life,” Chalmers said.
“Our job is to make it a little bit easier for people to make that choice if they want to,” he said, noting Labor’s policies to subsidise childcare, increase paid parental leave and lift mandatory superannuation contributions.
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he → have → contributions
Future government debt is expected to be slashed by half a trillion dollars compared to forecasts in the 2023 report, but much of the economic progress relies on emerging technologies such as artificial intelligence.
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much → expect → intelligence
“Overwhelmingly, the fiscal story is a little bit better; but still, lots, lots more work to do to manage some of these pressures and risks,” Chalmers said.
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Chalmers → do → pressures
Previous Treasury advice suggested AI could provide significant productivity gains across the public and private sectors if the nation kept pace with the global shift towards the technology.
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nation → suggest → technology
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