What Does Growing Up Look Like Now?
Updated: Oct 14
Is there really a right order for becoming an adult?
There is a version of growing up that many of us carry around in our heads: finish school, study or get a job, move out, become financially independent and gradually work out what you want your life to look like.
But life doesn’t always follow the formula, and new Australian research suggests that the path into adulthood is changing.
The 2026 HILDA Survey found that half of Australians aged 18–29 were living with their parents in 2024, compared with 39% in 2001. The increase has been particularly noticeable among 18–21-year-olds. At the same time, employment is high, while housing costs have become more challenging and a qualification doesn't always lead neatly to a job that uses what you studied.
That doesn’t necessarily mean young people are falling behind. It might mean that some of the milestones previous generations treated as a fairly predictable sequence are becoming less predictable.
You might stay at home while you save, move out with friends rather than on your own, work while you figure out what you want to study, change direction after starting a career, or take longer to become financially independent.
The point isn’t that one way is better than another. It’s that the old formula may not fit the way life works now.
Maybe growing up has never been about following a perfect sequence. Perhaps, it's about knowing that you don't have to have it all figured out to find your way forward.
Read the research
