The changing family (SACE Stage 2 Society and Culture)
“Analyse the family as a social institution, the diversity of family forms, and how and why family structures are changing in Australia.”
The family is a basic social institution that socialises children, provides care and emotional support, and transmits culture across generations. There is no single natural family form; family takes many shapes including nuclear, extended, single-parent, blended, same-sex and kinship families. Family structures in Australia have changed significantly, with smaller families, more divorce and re-partnering, more dual-income households, and legal recognition of same-sex marriage. These changes are driven by economic shifts, changing gender roles, legal reform and changing values, and they continue alongside the enduring importance of family.
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What this dot point is asking
You must explain the family as an institution and its functions, describe the diversity of family forms, and analyse how and why family is changing, with Australian examples.
The family as a social institution
A social institution is a stable, organised set of roles and norms built around a basic social need. The family is the institution organised around reproduction, care of the young, and the earliest socialisation of new members. It performs key functions: socialising children into the culture, providing emotional support and care, organising economic cooperation within a household, and giving members identity and belonging. Because the family is where primary socialisation happens, it is one of the most powerful influences on identity.
The family is a social institution organised around care, reproduction and primary socialisation, made up of people connected by relationships such as marriage, partnership, birth, adoption or kinship.
Diversity of family forms
There is no single correct family structure; family takes many forms.
- Nuclear family: two parents and their children in one household.
- Extended family: parents, children and other relatives such as grandparents living together or closely connected.
- Single-parent family: one parent raising children.
- Blended or step family: formed when partners with children from previous relationships combine.
- Same-sex parent family: a couple of the same sex raising children.
- Kinship family: especially in Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander cultures, where extended kin share responsibility for raising children.
This diversity is itself a feature of contemporary Australian society and challenges the idea that one form is natural or normal.
The image of the family as a married couple with the father working and the mother at home full time describes only a minority of Australian households today. Dual-income households, single-parent families and other forms are now common, which is why analysing the family means analysing change and diversity.
How families have changed
Australian families have changed in clear ways. Families are smaller, with fewer children on average. Marriage happens later or not at all, and de facto relationships are common. Divorce and re-partnering create more blended families. Most households now rely on two incomes. Same-sex marriage was legally recognised after the 2017 national survey, formally widening who can form a recognised family. Caring for ageing parents is becoming more significant as the population ages.
Why families are changing
These changes have identifiable causes.
- Economic change, including the cost of living and the shift to two-income households, reshapes family life.
- Changing gender roles, as women's participation in education and work transforms the division of labour at home.
- Legal reform, such as no-fault divorce and marriage equality, which changes what families are possible.
- Changing values, including greater acceptance of diverse relationships and individual choice.
Take the change
The rise of dual-income households.
Identify the economic cause
The rising cost of living and housing makes one income insufficient for many families, pushing both partners into paid work.
Identify the gender and value causes
Changing gender roles mean women's participation in education and work is expected and valued, and changing values support women's careers rather than full-time homemaking.
State the consequence and conclusion
The change reshapes the division of domestic labour and childcare arrangements. Explaining a single trend through several interacting causes (economic, gender, values) is the analytical structure a Stage 2 family answer needs.
Do not assume that change in the family means decline of the family. The family remains central to Australian life; it is changing form, not disappearing. A strong answer treats change neutrally, analysing causes and consequences rather than mourning a supposed golden age, and backs claims with specific examples.
Australian examples
Census data showing the rise of single-person and single-parent households illustrates structural change. The legalisation of same-sex marriage in 2017 is a clear example of legal and value change widening family forms. The growth of dual-income households connects family change to economic and gender change. Kinship care in Aboriginal communities shows that family structure is culturally shaped, not universal.
Connection to the rest of the course
This dot point applies the concepts of institution, socialisation and social change to the most personal social unit. It links to gender, since changing gender roles drive family change, and to social change and continuity, since the family is a clear case of both. Family issues, such as work-family balance or support for diverse families, are accessible and evidence-rich topics for the folio and external investigation.
Assessment-style questions
Questions on this dot point, each with a worked answer, written by ExamExplained. Society and Culture has no written exam, so use them to check your understanding before your assessment tasks.
Practice8 marksSource: census data shows the average Australian household size has fallen over recent decades, while the proportion of single-person and single-parent households has risen. (a) Identify the trend the source shows. (b) Using sociological concepts, explain why family structures have changed in these ways. (c) Suggest one limitation of using census data to study family life.Show worked answer →
This is a source/data analysis item marked on knowledge, analysis and evaluation.
- (a) Read the source (2 marks)
- It shows families are getting smaller and more diverse: a clear move away from the large or traditional nuclear household toward single-person and single-parent households.
- (b) Explain the change (4 marks)
- The changes are driven by economic shifts (cost of living and the move to dual-income households), changing gender roles as women participate in education and work, legal reform (no-fault divorce, marriage equality), and changing values favouring individual choice and accepting diverse relationships. The family is a social institution responding to wider social change. Naming the institution and at least two causes earns the marks.
- (c) Evaluate the source (2 marks)
- Census data captures household structure at one point in time but not the quality or dynamics of family relationships, and snapshot categories can miss fluid arrangements (for example shared-care children counted in one household), so it shows structure rather than lived family experience.
Practice12 marksAnalyse the family as a social institution and evaluate the claim that the Australian family is in decline. Refer to the diversity of family forms and the causes of change.Show worked answer →
This is an extended-response item marked on knowledge, analysis and communication.
- The family as an institution
- A stable set of roles and norms organised around care, reproduction and primary socialisation; it socialises children, provides care and identity, and transmits culture.
- Diversity of forms
- Nuclear, extended, single-parent, blended, same-sex and kinship families all exist; the traditional single-breadwinner model is now a minority, so no one form is natural.
- Causes of change
- Economic change, changing gender roles, legal reform (no-fault divorce, 2017 marriage equality) and changing values.
- Evaluate the decline claim
- Change is not the same as decline: the family remains central to Australian life and continues to perform its core functions; it is changing form, not disappearing. A top answer rejects the golden-age framing, treats change neutrally, and supports the judgement with examples such as census trends and kinship care in Aboriginal communities.