As part of an enduring partnership spanning more than two decades, Australian Unity and Deakin University have released their latest Wellbeing Index Survey Report, measuring the subjective wellbeing of over 2,000 Australian adults against a series of personal and national life domains.

Key findings:

• Satisfaction slides: Australians’ overall life satisfaction has fallen to the lowest score on record.
• Young Australians are struggling: 18-25 year-olds’ wellbeing hits an all-time low and they also record the highest levels of mental distress and climate worry
• Multiple crises put pressure on wellbeing: More Australians on average scored below the normal range for personal wellbeing, including those under 56 years of age, on a household income below $60,000 and those in casual work or unemployed.

The new Report, detailing survey data collected in May 2022, found Australia’s subjective wellbeing declined across all measures as the country faces a polycrisis of cost-of-living pressures, climate change and global uncertainty, amidst an ongoing health pandemic. This marks the first time in over a decade that such a consistent downtrend has been observed across all wellbeing measures.

“Given the tumultuous global and local events of 2022, including catastrophic floods, soaring COVID-19 cases, and global unrest causing inflation to skyrocket, the downward trend of Australians’ wellbeing was unsurprising. But what is surprising is that we didn’t see them earlier. Our findings highlight the importance of putting wellbeing at the heart of policy decisions. By doing this, with bipartisan support and legislation we can create an economy that better serves the people and the planet,” said Dr Kate Lycett, Research Fellow from the School of Psychology at Deakin University.

Key groups that recorded all-time low scores for their collective wellbeing included 18-25-year-olds and low-income households. Young adults also recorded the highest level of mental distress and climate worry. However, they felt most optimistic that climate change can be kept under control when compared to all other age groups.

“It's a really challenging time for so many. People are increasingly struggling with the cost of living, the housing crisis, climate change and the upheavals of the pandemic, which is particularly the case for young people. Young adulthood is a major transition period with change, exploration and risk-taking and where mental health problems can emerge or be compounded. Our results highlight the urgent need for policies to prioritise young people’s wellbeing.” Dr Lycett noted.

The Australian Unity Wellbeing Index is one of the longest running national studies of subjective wellbeing in the world. Since its inception in 2001, data from over 70,000 Australians has been widely used by researchers, governments, and organisations to gain insights into how satisfied citizens are with their lives.

“As policymakers and the wider community look for tangible ways to support our most vulnerable out of the pandemic and with rising economic uncertainty, the Australian Unity Wellbeing Index can play an important role in guiding resources and support to where it is needed most. It’s why we welcome the Federal Government’s commitment to “Measuring What Matters”. This is an important step in broadening our understanding of (societal) progress to include wellbeing alongside traditional economic measures, said Esther Kerr, Chief Executive Officer, Australian Unity Wealth & Capital Markets.

“While wellbeing is realised by the individual, it is ultimately the product of the macro environment. The key to wellbeing is having comfort that the services I and those close to me need, are accessible

and affordable—be they education, childcare, health, disability, and aged care.  While Government will continue to have a vital role in financing and delivering such services it can’t do it alone and we need financial markets to urgently allocate and incentivise capital—both public and private—to the services and infrastructure that contribute to our wellbeing, Kerr said.

For more information about the Australian Unity Wellbeing Index or to take the personal survey, visit australianunity.com.au. 

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About Australian Unity
Established in 1840, Australian Unity is a member-owned wellbeing company with more than 385,000 members and more than 700,000 customers. Our range of health, wealth and care products and services provides member, customer and community value that is supportive of personal and community wellbeing.

About Deakin University
Established in 1974, Deakin is one of Australia’s most progressive universities, leading in the innovative use of digital technologies and online learning, and blending this capability across its distinctive campus precincts in Melbourne, Geelong and Warrnambool.The Australian Centre on Quality of Life (ACQol) was established within the School of Psychology to study evidence-based measures for quality of life. ACQol formed a partnership with Australian Unity in 2000 to develop the Australian Unity Wellbeing Index.

About the Wellbeing Index
The Australian Unity Wellbeing Index is holistic, subjective understanding of wellbeing beyond just health and mental health and is one of the longest running nationally representative surveys of personal wellbeing in the world.

Since 2000, Australian Unity and Deakin University have been monitoring the Subjective Wellbeing of Australians aged 18 to 90+ years via the Wellbeing Index. To date, this monitoring has been achieved through 39 national surveys and collected data on over 70,000 Australians. In addition to charting the natural history of personal and national wellbeing, each year researchers examine how it varies by demographic groups and special interest areas.

The National Wellbeing Index (NWI) measures Australians average satisfaction score across six aspects of national life, including the economy, the environment, social conditions, governance, business, and national security. The Personal Wellbeing Index (PWI) measures Australians average level of satisfaction across seven aspects of personal life, including standard of living, health, achieving in life, personal relationships, safety, community connectedness, and future security.

GLOSSARY

Personal Subjective Wellbeing

Personal Subjective Wellbeing is measured using two methods, both of which measure satisfaction on a 0 to 10 choice scale. The first is a single item (GLS: Global Life Satisfaction): ‘How satisfied are you with your life as a whole?’ The second is the Personal Wellbeing Index (PWI), which averages the level of satisfaction across seven life domains – standard of living, health, achieving in life, relationships, safety, community connectedness, and future security.

National Subjective Wellbeing

National Subjective Wellbeing was measured using two methods, both of which measure satisfaction on a 0 to 10 choice scale. The first is a single item (GNW: Global National Wellbeing): ‘How satisfied are you with life in Australia? The second is the National Wellbeing Index (NWI), which averages the level of satisfaction across six national domains - economic situation, state of natural environment, state of social conditions, government, business, and national security.