<div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><strong><span>Exclusive:</span></strong><span> The national </span><a href="https://www.9news.com.au/national/australia-fertility-rate-to-hit-record-low-2026/3d7a5a43-61bf-4fb0-9c95-bfe731d965a0" rel="" target="_blank" title="birth rate"><span>birth rate</span></a><span> is set to plummet to a record low of 1.42 this year as Australians increasingly choose to have </span><a href="https://www.9news.com.au/national/cost-of-living-housing-crisis-to-blame-australia-birth-rate-dropping/3920c79b-1c85-4034-a750-d2f4703261c8" rel="" target="_blank" title="fewer kids, or none at all"><span>fewer kids, or none at all</span></a><span>.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>The </span><a href="https://www.9news.com.au/national/abortions-terminations-due-to-cost-of-living-australian-birth-rate/58e60e95-0193-4a1c-b9fb-64d91a25ed11" rel="" target="_blank" title="cost-of-living crisis"><span>cost-of-living crisis</span></a><span>, rental and housing shortages, and the state of the world are common factors in Aussie couples' decisions to keep families small.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>But there are some bucking the trend and having three, four, or more children despite the financial and other pressures.</span></div></div><div><div id="adspot-mobile-medium"></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><strong><span>READ MORE:</span></strong><span> </span><a href="https://www.9news.com.au/national/cost-of-living-housing-crisis-to-blame-australia-birth-rate-dropping/3920c79b-1c85-4034-a750-d2f4703261c8" rel="" target="_blank" title="Aussies on good money are being priced out of parenthood"><strong><span>Aussies on good money are being priced out of parenthood</span></strong></a></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>Rosina Gordon, 53, and her teacher husband moved to regional NSW to raise their six children, aged between 10 and 20.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>One of six herself, Gordon loved growing up with the sense of community a large family can foster and wanted the same for her own kids.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>Her Catholic faith also played a role.</span></div></div><div><div class="OUTBRAIN" data-reactroot="" data-src="//www.9news.com.au/national/australians-bucking-the-trend-of-having-fewer-kids/d40b4e75-620e-4b24-9ac8-c1d0d32d32c1" data-widget-id="AR_5"></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>"Is it faith that helped me to overcome the fear, the unforeseeable financial burden and instability that looms with the prospect of children? Well, yes," she told nine.com.au.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>"Having a large family has also definitely made my faith stronger."</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><em><strong><span>Have you got a story? Contact</span></strong></em><span> </span><strong><em><span>reporter Maddison Leach at</span></em></strong><span> </span><a href="mailto:mleach@nine.com.au" target="_blank" title="mleach@nine.com.au"><strong><em><span>mleach@nine.com.au</span></em></strong></a></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>But it set her apart from many other Aussie families.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>About 19.6 per cent of couple families and 15.3 per cent of one-parent families had three or more children in the 2021 Census.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>Those figures were down from 21.6 and 15.6 per cent respectively in 2015.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>Raising six children on a single income hasn't been easy and the family has always had to be careful with money.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>Research suggests it can cost anywhere from $164,000 to $370,000 to raise one child in Australia and families with two or more children can expect to cough up a lot more.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>The cost is high for a family as big as Gordon's but she makes ends meet.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>Her children wore hand-me-down clothes from relatives, their home is stacked with thrifted furniture, and family outings were done on a budget.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>For Gordon, the joys have outweighed the hardships.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>But she's also willing to admit that in this day and age "you really can't have it all".</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>"We are focused on individual goals and consumerism [and] motherhood is not promoted as glamorous or fulfilling," she said.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>She's spent the last 20 years fostering a small but tight-knit community of mums who also have big families and understand the demands of raising so many kids.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>She says they've been absolutely vital in supporting her emotional and mental health.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>"I have always sought out and surrounded myself with families living similarly to us," Gordon said.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>"It can't be done without a solid, committed, loyal friendship circle."</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>Jangelah Frew, 33, gets support from within her own large family.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><strong><span>READ MORE:</span></strong><span> </span><a href="https://www.9news.com.au/national/abortions-terminations-due-to-cost-of-living-australian-birth-rate/58e60e95-0193-4a1c-b9fb-64d91a25ed11" rel="" target="_blank" title="'Australians aren't choosing careers over children, they're choosing financial survival'"><strong><span>'Australians aren't choosing careers over children, they're choosing financial survival'</span></strong></a></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>She didn't always want lots of kids but found her life's purpose and fulfillment when she had her first nine years ago.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>Now she's pregnant with her fifth and couldn't be happier.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>"We wanted a big family and we got all of the joy, love, chaos and stress that comes with it," she said.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>Inflation and the cost of living has made the family budget tight.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>There have been times when Frew and her partner had to juggle multiple minimum wage jobs to get by.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>Now they're self-employed and receive government support, but they always find a way to make it work.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>They've sacrificed things like annual holidays, eating out, food delivery and technology upgrades.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>Frew home-schools the children in their Victoria rental and all meals are made from scratch on a grocery budget of about $300 per week.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><strong><span>READ MORE:</span></strong><span> </span><a href="https://www.9news.com.au/national/vasectomies-on-the-rise-in-australia-exclusive-data/e327612f-9118-4673-abec-860564301353"><strong><span>This surgical procedure is booming in Australia as cost of living bites</span></strong></a></div></div><div class="player__video-container"><img alt="" src="https://imageresizer.static9.net.au/s8TR3mx3b0TMWIJpKda2QCniSUo=/750x0/https%3A%2F%2Fvms-network-images-prod.s3-ap-southeast-2.amazonaws.com%2F2026%2F01%2F749797%2Fpickerimage.jpg"/></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>The family motto is "needs before wants" but for Frew, the sacrifice is worth it.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>"The support for having a large family is already there and we're proof," she said.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>"We utilise government support, my partner and I are solid, and we make life work within our means while we strive towards providing more for our family."</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>She also rejected assumptions that all big families must be religious, "povo" (poor), bogan, or only reproducing to claim benefits.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>Between the cost-of-living crisis and housing shortages, many Australians feel they can't afford to have a big family and the life they want for themselves.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>Gordon and Frew said they're proof that it can be done.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>They also called for more support to be made available to help Aussies who want large families, like additional childcare funding and tax deductions.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><strong><em><span>NEVER MISS A STORY:</span></em></strong><span> </span><strong><em><span>Get your breaking news and exclusive stories first by following us across all 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