The Household, Income and Labour Dynamics in Australia Survey: Selected Findings from Waves 1 to 23.
Our summary
The 2025 HILDA Statistical Report from the Melbourne Institute offers a comprehensive overview of Australia’s evolving social and economic landscape using data collected from the same households over many years.
The report draws on the 23 waves of data currently available, exploring ten major domains including households and family life, economic wellbeing, labour market dynamics, retirement, housing, health and time stress.
Key findings highlight how Australian households are navigating a mix of structural changes: shifts in work and employment patterns, rising cost-of-living pressures, evolving family and partnership arrangements, concerns about housing affordability and time stress, and varying wellbeing outcomes across demographic groups. For instance, the report reveals how disposable incomes, employment stability, and wellbeing indicators have diverged across age groups, socio-economic status and family structures.
Importantly, the HILDA Survey’s longitudinal design allows community work professionals, policy makers and researchers to trace how people’s lives change over time—not just in snapshots but in a continuing story of Australian society.
For community work professionals in particular, this resource offers vital context and evidence: it helps frame the lived experience of individuals and families within broader population trends, supports data-informed program design, and underpins advocacy by highlighting where structural pressures and inequalities persist.