The Feed debates why Australians are choosing a child-free life on SBS2 – A new edition of The Feed puts a personal decision at the centre of a national conversation. Having Kids: Why Are More People Choosing a Child-Free Life, and Should Having Kids Still Be a Priority? premieres on SBS2 and SBS On Demand on Wednesday 14 October at 8.30pm.
Journalist and author Elfy Scott moderates a discussion between six Australians with different experiences of parenthood and life without children. The programme asks what drives those choices and how families and society respond.
The debate reaches beyond a simple question of individual preference. It places cost-of-living pressure and uncertainty about the future alongside family expectations, purpose and changing ideas of adulthood. SBS also brings the national implications of a lower birth rate into the conversation.
Who is taking part in The Feed debate?
Model and actor Ellie Gonsalves joins child-free advocate Andrew Lewis, nurse Dita, pro-life activist and single mother Elspeth McKellar, commentator George Mamalis and mother of six Stephanie Bastiaan. Their contrasting perspectives give the programme room to discuss both the appeal of a child-free life and the value participants find in raising children.
According to SBS, the group explores the effect of living costs and concern about the future. They also consider family pressure, sacrifice, fulfilment and the relationship between declining birth rates and immigration. The programme presents these as subjects for discussion, not as settled answers to a complex demographic question.
Scott’s work has focused on gender and contemporary Australian social issues. Here, her role is to guide a discussion in which personal experience and wider social questions meet. The programme asks whether having children still defines adulthood for many Australians, and whether growing acceptance of child-free living signals a broader shift in how people understand happiness and success.
Why the discussion matters now
SBS frames the episode against Australia’s low birth rate. The Australian Bureau of Statistics’ births data provides the demographic backdrop. However, a national trend cannot explain any one person’s decision. That distinction matters when discussing the choices and pressures facing people who may or may not want children.
The Feed produces four debates each year. The format brings together content creators and prominent online voices with differing opinions for a candid exchange. Its federal election debate was shortlisted in the Outstanding Digital Innovation category at the 2025 Kennedy Awards.
When and where to watch
Having Kids: Why Are More People Choosing a Child-Free Life, and Should Having Kids Still Be a Priority? premieres on SBS2 and SBS On Demand at 8.30pm on Wednesday 14 October. SBS says the full episode will also be available on The Feed’s YouTube channel from Thursday 15 October. The release does not specify a separate public trailer or preview clip.
The Feed debate premieres Wednesday 14 October at 8.30pm on SBS2 and SBS On Demand.
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