Politics & Society
Australian workers feel over-skilled and over-educated
Many Australians are happy in love – but will it stay this way?
The annual HILDA Survey finds most couples rate their partnerships highly, but financial stress takes a heavier toll than anything else
Published 24 September 2026
On average, Australians seem quite happy in their relationships.
According to the latest annual Household, Income and Labour Dynamics in Australia (HILDA) Survey, Australian couples rate their relationship quality at a high 4.3, where one means deeply unhappy and five means completely content.
If we just look at love, the picture is a happy one.
When asked about their relationship, 72.6 per cent of men and 67.5 per cent of women say they love their partner "very, very much".
Nearly as many have no regrets: 71.8 per cent of men and 67.3 per cent of women say they never wish they hadn't married or partnered up.
Look further, though, and things get more textured.
On the more practical measures, whether a partner truly meets your needs, or how closely the relationship matches how you pictured it in the beginning, the perfect scores thin out: only around 40 per cent of men and a third of women rated these areas a perfect five points.
This differentiated picture suggests that people are quite clear about what works in their relationship and what doesn't. They see some problems but, overall, they're still happy with their partner.
Most couples are in a happy place; those who aren't tend to tough it out
The HILDA Survey follows the lives of more than 17,000 Australians each year over the course of their lifetime, and collects information on many aspects of life in Australia, including household and family relationships, income and employment, health and education.
The latest survey is based on data collected in 2024.
Perhaps not surprisingly, the survey also shows that relationship quality and stability are closely related.
For people who gave their relationship the lowest rating of one, close to 39 per cent had split with their partner three to four years later. Among those who scored their relationship a two, almost 26 per cent had later broken up.
Still, these proportions mean most of the unhappy couples stay together, at least in the short term.
Key findings of the HILDA relationship quality survey
Australians’ overall perception of relationship quality Read more Read less
Perceived quality of partner relationships is generally high, averaging 4.3 out of 5 points, with females consistently reporting lower scores than males.
Financial stress, disability, resident children, living outside of the mainland capital cities and being born overseas outside the main English-speaking countries are all associated with lower relationship quality.
Relationship quality over time Read more Read less
Relationship quality is highest among recent unions and very long term unions, but notably lower for relationships of intermediate duration, reaching its lowest point about 24 years after partners move in together, before gradually improving.
Mean relationship quality is almost identical for males and females on moving in together, but the decline until year 24 is more pronounced among females.
The subsequent increase in relationship quality between year 24 and year 60 appears steeper for males, widening the gender gap in relationship quality even further.
Relationship satisfaction and division of household labour Read more Read less
Females in female-primary-earner couples have lower relationship satisfaction compared to females in male-primary-earner or equal-earner couples.
People in couples without earnings (a group that is dominated by couples where both partners are retired), have significantly higher relationship quality.
Males’ relationship quality is higher when housework and childcare are shared relatively equally or when their partner does most of these tasks (i.e., the partner accounts for more than 60% of the couple’s total time spent on these tasks) than when males perform most of the work themselves.
Females report greater satisfaction when housework and childcare are shared equally, but not when their partner does most of these tasks.
Same-sex partnerships Read more Read less
Females in same-sex relationships report greater relationship quality than those in opposite-sex relationships, while this is not the case among males.
Couples with and without children Read more Read less
People with resident children have lower relationship quality than those without resident children, with the associations being particularly negative for those with a youngest child aged 4 to 7 or 8 to 17.
Togetherness is a rollercoaster
For couples who do stay together, the course of true love doesn't always run smoothly.
After the honeymoon period, the HILDA Survey data show relationship quality sliding into a long decline that hits its lowest point about 24 years after partners move in together.
From there, for those who last the distance, it climbs again steadily. As a result, average relationship quality is relatively high after age 65.
The dip comes in the years when couples are building their lives together, and typical everyday pressures – high workloads, raising children, home loans and high family expenses – can pull at the relationship.
After the challenges of those busy middle years of a relationship, things tend to ease.
The mortgage is paid off, careers no longer demand 50-hour weeks to prove yourself and the children have grown up or moved out. As those strains lift, the relationship recovers.
Money worries take the biggest toll
Severe financial stress is the single biggest strain on a relationship. Of all the factors that were analysed in the HILDA report, it has the greatest effect on relationship quality.
The latest HILDA data run only to 2024, but money pressure looks set to keep taking its toll on couples, given current high housing costs including rent and mortgage repayments and the cost of living more broadly.
Children at home ranked second in terms of impact.
Relationships are particularly stretched when the youngest child is between four and seven, and stay under strain through the ages of eight to 17.
Disability, living outside Australia’s mainland capitals and being born overseas outside the main English-speaking countries are all associated with lower relationship quality, too.
Similarly, doing a much greater share of the housework and child care than the partner tends to come with reduced relationship quality, likely because such a division of labour is often perceived as unfair.
But none of these factors takes a heavier toll than financial stress.
The survey also found that between 2020 and 2024, relationship quality was lower than during the early 2000s, part of which can likely be explained by the extra challenges couples faced during the COVID-19 pandemic, like lockdowns, job and financial pressures, and home schooling.
Despite this, overall, couples rate their relationship highly, and most are able to weather some difficult years.
The question is whether couples can also withstand the prolonged cost-of-living pressures we are all facing in Australia today.