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When 34-year-old high school teacher Trent Crowe walked into a Sydney clinic for his vasectomy last March, he wasn’t nervous. He’d already made up his mind.
“Growing up, I thought I would have [kids] — not that I wanted them — it’s just what society kind of expects,” Trent told The Feed.
But by his early 20s, Trent started to realise there might not be room for children in his life.
“The more I learned about what humans are doing to the environment, the more I thought: ‘Well, that’s just adding more fuel to the fire.’”
And then there was the financial reality.

“Even with a reasonable income, I can’t imagine how I’d manage, especially with a dependent,” Trent confessed.

Around one in four Australian men over 40 have had a vasectomy — but Trent is among the younger men also choosing permanent contraception.
“Obviously there’s other forms of contraception out there, but a vasectomy is a guarantee more or less that there will be no kid.”

Recent findings from the Household, Income and Labour Dynamics in Australia (HILDA) survey reveal that 15% of Australian men now express a desire to remain child-free, a notable increase from 11% back in 2005. This survey involved approximately 17,000 participants.

A line graph showing how many children women aged 45-49 have given birth to in their lifetime, from 1981 to 2021

The period from the 1990s to 2021 has seen a continual decline in the number of women aged 45-49 who have had children.

A line graph illustrating the number of children born to women aged 45-49 from 1981 to 2021

Australia’s birthrate has been consistently falling since 1994, from 1.85 per woman to 1.48 per woman in 2024. Experts attribute this to delayed parenthood, smaller families, and a growing number of people choosing to remain child-free.

According to data from the Australian Bureau of Statistics, as of June this year, there are 3.7 million couple families without children.

And while the discussions around fertility often centre on women, Tang thinks a cultural shift is occurring.
“Traditionally, contraception was seen as a woman’s responsibility. Now we’re seeing a shift, with men stepping up and taking on that contraceptive burden,” Tang told The Feed.

“It’s still not a very significant percentage of men that actually go through and get a vasectomy done — but we definitely have a lot of inquiries from younger men under the age of 25.”

What is a vasectomy?

A vasectomy is a surgery that involves cutting and sealing the vas deferens — the tubes that carry sperm — and is usually performed with local anaesthetic.

And with a 99.9 per cent success rate, the procedure is one of the most effective forms of contraception available and has no effect on testosterone levels.

an image showing how a vasectomy works

A vasectomy cuts the vas deferens, the tubes that carry sperm from the testicles. Source: SBS

Tang said the newer, “no-scalpel” vasectomy technique — a less invasive version of the procedure that uses a tiny puncture instead of an incision to reach the vas deferens — is quick and low-risk.

“It takes about 20 minutes under local anaesthetic,” he said.

A doctor in front of a clinic room wearing blue scrubs with a tag that reads gentle procedures clinic has a microphone attached to him

Dr Benjamin Tang said he has seen an increased interest in men under 30 inquiring about vasectomies. Source: SBS / Matt Gazy

“Most men can drive themselves home and be back at work within a couple of days.”

Vasectomies are a safe and reliable form of permanent contraception, however there’s a small risk of bleeding, infection or ongoing pain after the procedure, according to Healthdirect, Australia’s national health advice service. It notes that rarely, the vas deferens can grow back together, which can lead to pregnancy.

While vasectomies can be reversed, fertility is not guaranteed to return.

Young men ‘stepping up’

The increased interest in vasectomies from some younger men reflects a broader social shift, according to Liz Allen, a demographer from the Australian National University.

“It’s partly driven by younger men stepping up so that women don’t have to shoulder the full burden of reproductive health.”

Rising living costs, the climate crisis and shifting social norms are also playing a role in men choosing to be child-free, Allen said.
“Life is simply too difficult for many young people to start families,” she said.

“Housing affordability, economic security and climate anxiety all weigh heavily. In that context, choosing to be child-free is increasingly seen as a rational — even responsible — choice.”

A for sale sign between two small houses

Demographer Liz Allen sites cost-of-living as one major reason many younger people are choosing to be child-free. Source: Getty / William West/AFP

For Trent, as his understanding of the world deepened, so too did his conviction to live child-free.

“It seems like a lot of the older generation who do have kids … just say offhand: ‘Oh, God, if I was your age now, I wouldn’t bother. Or I certainly wouldn’t do it now in the current climate situation.’”

Breaking the stigma of being child-free

Trent has found the reactions to his decision were mostly supportive, but is aware of the ongoing stigma around being child-free
“Apart from a handful of friends who kind of project what they want onto me, no one really cares. My parents don’t seem particularly bothered that they won’t necessarily get grandchildren from me,” he said.

But he believes for women, it’s still a different story.

“I don’t know a single child-free woman that hasn’t been absolutely hassled [for being child-free],” Trent said.
“It’s like this antiquated idea that women are for nothing more than carrying a child — and that needs to change.”
In 1981, about 8.5 per cent of women aged 45-49 hadn’t had kids. By 2021, that number had nearly doubled, with 16.5 per cent of women in that age group child-free, according to the Australian Institute of Family Studies.
Allen said that while child-free choices are becoming more normalised, there’s still some societal judgement directed toward women.

“Women are still being questioned as being selfish, as being hedonistic. ‘Why can’t you just lie back and think of the country as you go forth and procreate?’ That’s just not the reality here,” Allen said.

Shifting responsibility

Since the vasectomy, Trent’s views on what it means to be a man have evolved: he no longer ties it to being a father and believes men in his generation have vastly different views on masculinity and family compared to his parents’ generation.
“I did not grow up thinking that my purpose was to be a father … I never really thought about fatherhood in any meaningful way,” Trent said.

“I think masculinity is whatever you want it to be.”

And Allen said men taking responsibility for contraceptives is a positive step towards equality.
“We are seeing fellows really step up here … in a way that means that women don’t have to shoulder the full burden of reproductive health, especially when it comes to contraception,” Allen said.
“Social norms are shifting. Men are saying:  ‘I want to help share that burden,’ especially in these committed relationships.”
Beyond a new sense of masculinity, having a vasectomy ultimately gave Trent a sense of control and clarity.

“People are realising having a child or not is your choice, and I think more men are starting to understand that responsibility doesn’t always mean fatherhood.”

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