Quality of life in Australia

This chapter describes some aspects of life quality in Australia. The data for the initial overview have come from various sources. Following this general introduction, the chapter concentrates on two areas of Australian life that are key to subjective wellbeing. Using the combined data base from 24 surveys using the Australian Unity Wellbeing Index, we identified the happiest and the saddest groups in Australia as defined by their demographic profile. The highest wellbeing groups comprise people who have both a partner and a decent level of wealth. The lowest wellbeing groups are people with no partner, who have a low income and who are unemployed. The chapter then concentrates on the two common, defining elements of the highest and lowest groups as money and relationships. The results are interpreted in terms of data norms, homeostasis theory and possible causal agents. It is concluded that the results generally conform to the predictions of homeostasis and offer signposts as to the kinds of structural changes that influence population wellbeing.