Demographics Decoded - Unveiling the trends shaping your future

Australians are wealthier, healthier and living longer than previous generations, so why are we becoming less happy?

Why are younger Australians now among the least happy people in the country?

And have expensive housing, social media and our constant desire for more turned the Australian dream into a treadmill we can never escape?

Today, Simon Kuestenmacher and I explore Australia's growing happiness paradox, why economic progress is no longer translating into greater life satisfaction, and what the demographic data tells us about the people who are struggling...

For twenty years, the story of Australian housing was apartments. Cranes over the CBD, young professionals in one-bedroom towers, cafes on every corner.

Today, that story is quietly ending, and almost nobody in property or planning has caught up with it yet.

The generation that built the apartment boom is now the generation walking away from it, and where they go next is going to reshape entire suburbs.

Australia's largest generation is entering a new stage of life, and that is going to change what millions of...

Australians just completed the 2026 Census, the largest and most important statistical exercise conducted in this country which provide a snapshot of who we are, where we live, how we work, what our households look like and how our society is changing.

Of course, Census results are more than a collection of interesting facts. They influence where governments build schools, hospitals and roads, where businesses invest and, for property investors, where future housing demand is likely to emerge.

In today's episode Simon Kuestenmacher and I use the Census as an opportunity to...

You're told inflation is running at around three per cent a year, yet when you look at your mortgage repayments, your rent, your electricity bill and your council rates, none of it feels like three per cent, does it?

That's because it isn't. Analysis we're going to unpack today shows housing costs have been climbing at roughly four per cent a year since the year 2000, and some parts of that bill, like electricity and gas, have more than quadrupled.

Now, just to be clear, I'm not talking about the cost of...

Have you noticed people seem shorter-tempered lately?

The bloke who snaps at you in the supermarket queue. The relative who tears strips off a nurse in a hospital waiting room. The parent screaming at a teenage umpire at a junior footy match.

You're not imagining it. Nearly nine in ten retail workers in Australia were verbally abused in the last year. Principals are being threatened at nearly double the rate they were in 2011. And nurses are copping violence and aggression on the job at record levels.

But...

By the time many of today's Gen Z buys their first home, Melbourne will have overtaken Sydney as Australia's biggest city.

Canberra will be bigger than Newcastle. And a sleepy Victorian farming town called Warragul will have more than tripled in size.

If that sounds far fetched, stick around, because today we're unpacking a piece of research that maps out every major Australian city and town all the way to 2050, and some of the findings will completely reshape how you think about where the next wave of property demand is heading.<...

Believe it or not, over the past decade, the average Australian household has seen their real income grow by just 0.6 per cent a year. Compare that to the United States, where the equivalent figure is 22.6 per cent. Even Canada and the UK have left us behind.

We used to be the envy of the developed world. Back in 2018, The Economist ran a cover story calling us "the wonder down under." Today, we're recording our worst decade of income growth since the late 1950s.

Now, most people will tell you this is...

Australia's housing shortage is usually explained through population growth, sluggish construction, planning delays and the rising cost of building new homes.

However, there may be another powerful force sitting quietly in the background.

Australia currently has around 4.5 million Baby Boomers aged between 62 and 80, and many of them are remaining in their family homes well into retirement. That means a large number of established properties that might once have returned to the market through downsizing or deceased estates are staying tightly held.

There are estimates that there may...

Here's something that might surprise you.

More than a third of everyone currently working in Australia was born overseas. One in three workers. And in our capital cities, that number climbs to almost one in two.

Now, I know the immigration debate has been running hot — in the media, in parliament, around the kitchen table. But most of that conversation is missing the data.

And when you see the actual numbers, they tell a very different story to the one you're hearing in the headlines.

Australians are often told that we don't like reform.

We apparently want better housing affordability, a stronger economy, better healthcare, improved aged care, a simpler tax system and a sustainable budget, but we don't want to give up anything to get there.

But is that really true?

In today's episode of Demographics Decoded, Simon Kuestenmacher and I discuss his recent New Daily article arguing that Australians can handle harsh truths, provided leaders are honest about the trade-offs and clear about where the country is heading.

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What if I told you that the average Australian born today will likely live well into the 22nd century?

That's not science fiction. That's where the demographic data is pointing right now, and it has enormous implications for how we work, how we invest, how we retire, and how we think about money.

Most Australians are still planning their finances around a life that ends at 80 or 85. But what happens when you live to 100 - or beyond?

Suddenly, a 20-year retirement becomes a 35-year one. The superannuation...

What if the secret to becoming wealthy wasn't being smarter than everyone else?

What if it wasn't timing the market, picking the next hot suburb, or finding some clever tax loophole?

What if the real secret was simply living long enough to let good assets quietly compound in the background?

Now, I know that sounds strange, but in a recent article in The New Daily, Simon Kuestenmacher used a fascinating idea he called "vampire economics."

His argument was that if vampires existed, they...

Migration has become one of the most emotional and divisive topics in Australia.

And that's understandable.

Many Australians are struggling with higher rents, housing shortages, congestion, pressure on services, and a feeling that population growth has run ahead of planning.

Interestingly, in his recent article in The New Daily, Simon Kuestenmacher argued that Australia should offer more permanent visas, not fewer.

And when people hear someone say Australia should offer more permanent visas, not fewer, their first reaction may be disbelief.

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Housing affordability is one of the biggest issues in Australia today, but I'm not sure we're all talking about the same thing when we use that phrase.

For some people, affordability means lower house prices.

For others, it means being able to save a deposit, qualify for a loan, manage repayments, or simply have enough money left over after housing costs to live a decent life.

And there's another uncomfortable truth: many Australians say they want housing to be more affordable, but they also want the value...

Picture Budget night in Canberra. Every minister walks through the Treasurer's door with a worthy cause and an outstretched hand.

Defence wants submarines. Health wants hospitals. Aged care wants more staff. Housing wants subsidies. Education wants teachers.

Everyone has a reason - and the Treasurer has to find the money.

So where does the money actually come from? For decades, the answer has been the same place: your payslip.

More than half of all federal government revenue comes from personal income tax.

Australia has been extraordinarily fortunate.

We have iron ore, coal, gas, lithium, critical minerals, agricultural capacity, world-class cities, proximity to Asia and a political system that, for all its faults, is still stable by global standards.

But being lucky and being prepared are not the same thing.

For decades, Australia has generated enormous wealth from resources, migration, housing, education and trade.

Yet the question we need to ask is whether we have used that wealth wisely.

Because, as Simon...

Australia loves a good generational argument.

Boomers had it easy. Millennials can't get ahead. Gen X has been forgotten. Gen Z has been handed the worst starting point.

But what if that whole debate is too simplistic?

In today's show, Simon Kuestenmacher talks about the very different money problems each generation will face in the 2030s, and why the real divide in Australia may no longer be young versus old, but asset owners versus everyone else.

We explore how demographic shifts are redefining...

Gen Z - they've never known a world without smartphones. They grew up through a pandemic.

And they're entering adulthood at a time when housing feels further out of reach than ever.

But here's what most people miss.

Generation Z is already reshaping how we work, how we spend, and how we think about money, and their influence is only just beginning.

If you're trying to understand the future of Australia's property market, workforce, and economy, this is a generation you need to...

Millennials - they've been called entitled, they've been called unlucky.

And depending on who you listen to, they're either the problem… or the future.

But here's what's really happening.

Millennials are now the largest generation in the workforce, they're entering their peak earning years, and they're starting to dominate property demand across Australia.

So if you're trying to understand where the economy, the housing market, and business trends are heading next, you need to understand Millennials.

So in this episode, Simon Ku...

Gen X- they're not the loudest generation. They're not the biggest. And they're rarely the centre of attention.

But right now, Generation X is sitting in the most influential position in our economy, our housing markets, and our businesses.

They're running companies, controlling household wealth, and quietly making decisions that will shape the next decade.

So if you're an investor, a business owner, or someone trying to understand where Australia is heading next, this is a generation you simply can't afford to ignore.

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Baby Boomers - they bought property when it was cheap, they built businesses, shaped policies, and accumulated enormous wealth…

And now, as they move into retirement, they're still influencing almost every aspect of our economy.

So here's the question… are Baby Boomers the luckiest generation in history - or simply the most misunderstood?

And more importantly…what happens next as this generation transitions from wealth creation to wealth transfer?

In this episode, Simon Kuestenmacher and I examine the profound influence of the Baby Boomer...

Why do younger Australians feel locked out of the property market… while older generations are sitting on unprecedented wealth?

Why do workplaces feel like they're full of tension between "entitled" younger staff and "out-of-touch" managers?

And why do governments keep making decisions that seem to favour one generation over another?

Here's the truth…Most of what you've been told about generations is either oversimplified, misunderstood — or just plain wrong.

And if you're making business, investment, or career decisions based on those myths… you could be...

What if I told you Australia isn't one country… but dozens of tribes?

Some are obvious - like Baby Boomers or Millennials.

But others… like KIPPERS, YUMMYs, or NETTELS… quietly shape our housing markets, our economy, and even your investment returns.

While we often talk about markets, interest rates, and economic cycles…the real drivers of long-term change are people.

And more specifically, how different groups of people behave.

Because Australia isn't just one homogenous population - it's made up of wh...

Australia is about to change more in the next 10 years than it did in the last 30.

Not because of politics. Not because of technology. But because of demographics.

Where Australians live, how old we are, how many migrants arrive, how fast we age – all of this will shape property markets, business opportunities, government policy, and your financial future.

And most people are completely unprepared.

Today, Simon Kuestenmacher and I unpack what Australia will look like in the next decade – and what that means for...

What if the biggest risk to your business, and your property portfolio isn't interest rates or migration?

What if it's image?

Right now, whole industries in Australia have an image problem. And that's not just a PR issue - it's a demographic time bomb.

Today Simon Kuestenmacher explains why young Australians are quietly rejecting certain careers, how that will reshape our workforce, and what it means for wages, inflation, housing demand and long-term investment strategy.

In this episode Simon and I, explore the...

Australia's population is growing – we all know that. But here's the problem. Most people are looking at the wrong numbers.

They're focused on headline population growth, migration totals, and whether we'll hit 40 million people one day.

What they're missing is who is growing, when, and what stage of life they're moving into.

Because property markets aren't driven by population size. They're driven by household formation, life-stage transitions, income peaks, downsizing decisions, and care needs.

And right now, Australia is experiencing one of the mo...

Most Australians think retirement is simple - work hard, pay off the home, build a nest egg, then spend carefully so you do not run out.

But here is the uncomfortable truth.

A lot of people do retirement backwards. They spend their healthiest years accumulating.

Then when they finally have the money, they have less energy, less mobility, and fewer meaningful chances to use it well.

And at the same time, we are watching a quiet shift in Australia. Inheritances and the Bank of Mum...

A war thousands of kilometres away might seem like something that only affects geopolitics or oil markets.

But what if it actually exposes something much bigger about Australia's economic model?

For decades, Australia has relied on a very simple formula for prosperity: we dig resources out of the ground, sell them to the world, and import much of what we consume.

But geopolitical shocks - like the escalating conflict involving Iran - remind us just how interconnected our economy really is.

Oil prices...

If you listen to the media, you'd think property prices are driven by interest rates, immigration numbers, and whatever the RBA does next month.

But when you strip away the noise and look at what actually moves prices over the medium term, there's one factor that quietly dominates everything else.

And it's - jobs.

And not just how many jobs, but what type of jobs, where they are located, and who they attract.

In this episode of Demographics Decoded, Simon Kuestenmacher and I...

Every few years, we're told the same story.

That regional Australia has finally cracked the code. That young people are fleeing the cities. That work-from-home has changed everything. And that country towns are the future of housing and lifestyle in Australia.

But when you strip away the headlines and look at the data, a very different picture emerges.

Yes, some regional markets have done extraordinarily well.

But many small towns are quietly ageing, shrinking, and losing exactly the people they need most...

Today, we examine a significant demographic shift that's reshaping Australia more quietly than population growth or migration, but with far greater long-term consequences.

By 2029, every baby boomer will officially be of retirement age, but many won't be anywhere near ready to down tools. And not just because the super balance isn't quite there yet.

Some boomers are working because they enjoy it. Some because their jobs have changed - they're no longer worn out at 60 the way their parents were.

Others simply don't have a choice, especially...

Today we're dive into one of the biggest myths in modern psychology and economics -the idea that money stops increasing your happiness after a certain point.

You've probably heard the line: "Happiness plateaus at US$75,000 a year." It's a catchy idea. It went viral. And it shaped everything from personal-finance advice to government policy.

But as it turns out, it was misunderstood, and modern research suggests something very different.

Takeaways

· Money does not stop increasing happiness after a certain point.

· The original research on money an...

Today we shine a spotlight on a generation that rarely asks for attention but quietly shapes enormous parts of Australia's economy and real estate landscape. I'm talking about Generation X - that cohort born between 1965 and 1980.

While Millennials dominate headlines and Boomers dominate balance sheets, Gen X has been sitting in the middle - and as you'll hear today, they've been making some very important moves.

In fact, new data suggests that Gen X are the quiet winners of Australia's property market. They bought when homes were more affordable, they rode...

Today we ask a question almost no one in property likes to touch - not "will housing prices keep rising?" but "how expensive do we actually want housing to be?"

For decades we've celebrated rising house prices in Australia. If your home was worth more this year than last, life felt a bit easier. Politicians were happy, banks were happy, homeowners were happy.

But after 50 years of almost uninterrupted price growth, we need to ask a harder question: Is it actually good for us if housing just keeps getting more expensive?<...

At the end of last year, Simon Kuestenmacher published a detailed set of demographic predictions about Australia's future – covering everything from migration and ageing, to housing affordability, consumer behaviour and where population growth would show up.

And instead of quietly moving on, he's come back twelve months later to mark his own homework.

Today, we discuss the accuracy of his forecasts related to migration, fertility rates, political trends, and the property market.

We also explore how societal changes, such as aging populations and consumer behavior, impact various se...

In today's show we delve into a fresh set of data from the HILDA survey - one of Australia's longest-running studies tracking how real households are living, working, earning, spending, and socialising.

Our aim is to help you make sense of what's coming next — so you can make smarter decisions for your business, your investments.

You'll hear how Australians are becoming wealthier yet facing challenges such as rising living costs and increasing loneliness.

We discuss the implications of retirement wealth, the challenges faced by non-homeowners, and the wi...

In today's show we delve into the latest findings from the Hilda report, exploring the significant demographic shifts in Australia.

We discuss how Australians are becoming richer yet feeling poorer due to rising costs, the impact of these economic realities on family planning, and the implications of an aging workforce and increasing lonliness.

It's clear these trends aren't random. They're reshaping our economy, our housing markets, our workforce, and even our social fabric in ways many people haven't yet recognised.

Our conversation highlights the importance of understanding...

In March 2020, we all wondered how COVID would change us. Would it be just a temporary shock, or would it reshape society forever?

Well, six years on, the data is in – and it turns out the pandemic didn't rewrite Australia's destiny, but it did press fast-forward on changes that were already underway.

In this episode of Demographics Decoded, I explore with Simon Kuestenmacher the lasting impacts of COVID-19 on Australia's demographics.

We unpack how Covid accelerated demographic shifts, from fewer babies and more deaths, to the rise of...

What does it actually mean to age well? We all know people who seem to get older but never old – they're curious, kind, and somehow more alive with each passing decade.

And then there are others who retreat, complain, and shrink their world.

Today we're decoding what it really takes to age well – mentally, physically, socially, and financially.

We'll look at some wisdom from Roger Rosenblatt's witty book Rules for Ageing, and add Simon's demographic lens to see what the data says about how we can actually put...

Today we're having a bit of fun – but there's a serious insight behind it too

We're going to be talking about "8 things Boomers refuse to stop doing that drive younger generations absolutely crazy."

Now you've probably seen those memes and TikToks poking fun at Boomer habits – from insisting on paying with cash to overusing ellipses in text messages.

But these quirks reveal something deeper about how different generations see the world – shaped by the times they grew up in.

So whether you're a proud...