 In 1971, the rate of natural increase was 12.7 persons per 1,000 population; a decade later it had fallen to 8.5.In 1996 the rate of natural increase fell below seven for the first time, with the downward trend continuing in the late 1990s.Population projections by the Australian Bureau of Statistics indicate that continued low fertility, combined with the increase in deaths from an ageing population, will result in natural increase falling below zero sometime in the mid-2030s.