While some say nuclear families are still the dominant form, the statistics are not in favor. However, that doesnât mean theyâve been the most popular family unit for millennia. While nuclear families still account for a third of Australiaâs total 9.1 million households, within a few years, the most common households will be couple-only families. For the first time in Australiaâs history, the nuclear family (couple with children) will no longer be the most common household â while today they make up 33% of all households, within a few years the couple only household will be the most common type of household. Blended families are a small proportion of modern Australian family forms, accounting for just over 3.7% of all families. Here, there is at least one resident step-child, but no child who is the natural or adopted child of both partners. Nevertheless the total number of single-parent families increased by more than 50,000 over 5 years. It is in contrast to a single-parent family, the larger extended family, or a family with more than two parents.Nuclear families typically center on a married couple which may have any number of children. Grandparents already play a significant role in Australian family lives through the provision of informal child care, but there are now just over 60,000 grandparent families in Australia (which a significant increase from estimates in 2004, which found around 22,500 grandparent families). Thus defined, the nuclear family was once widely held to be the most basic and universal form of social organization. Here, Big Brother winner Benjamin Norris is pictured with his partner Benjamin Williams. As sociologists and demographers have long known, the Australian family is as diverse and different as the country’s terrain. Mum, dad and two kids is no longer the typical Australian family - and our political leaders need to ensure social policies reflect this. Our political leaders should reflect on this diversity to ensure social policies reflect these differences, so that all families are well supported. Couple-only households will outstrip nuclear families within a couple of years. The Australian Government uses official definitions of blended families and stepfamilies for gathering statistics and surveying trends in Australian households and families. Overall, around 15% of same-sex couples had children. The nuclear family so far as it excludes other family members who are integrated into the extended family, tends to neglect the needy, such as the aged, poor, handicapped; and tends to aspire in a competitive manner towards material well-being and status for itself. Female same-sex couples were more likely to be in couple families with dependent children (20.67%) compared to male same-sex couples (3.10%), or opposite-sex couples (37.8%). Brendan Churchill is Convenor of the The Australian Sociological Association's (TASA) Families and Relationships Thematic Group. So, just how many families were a part of nuclear households in their heydays? A further 27% were four-person families. Copyright © 2010–2021, The Conversation US, Inc. 2016 Census - Counting Families, Place of Enumeration, 2016 Census – Counting Families, Place of Enumeration. Not everyone agrees on what a nuclear family is. However, since the first family statistics were collected in 1966, other family forms and nonfamily living arrangements have been increasing. His view is shared by other couples delaying their decision to extend their families, a trend which paired with Australia's ageing population means the nuclear family is in decline.