It takes a village to raise a child, but access to one is far from equal.
Families often rely on grandparents, neighbours, friends and others to help rear the next generation and make the daunting task of parenthood less stressful.
But financially insecure Australians, renters, those with extra caring responsibilities, and other vulnerable groups have less access to an ecosystem of support, the 2025 Uniting Families Report has found.
"Strong and healthy communities provide a foundation for families to thrive," Social Services Minister Tanya Plibersek said in a video statement at the report's launch.
"Entrenched intergenerational disadvantage is concentrated in a relatively small number of communities around Australia.
"While universal systems need to do better to serve these communities on their own, they're unlikely to be enough to break those cycles of intergenerational disadvantage."
Those with more community and social ties found parenting less stressful and were more likely to strengthen those relationships.
Families born overseas - particularly those from non-English speaking backgrounds also reported higher levels of community participation, which could be attributed to deliberate attempts to build networks in the absence of nearby family.
But those under financial stress or experiencing unemployment were less connected to social and community life, with 65 per cent facing moderate to severe financial stress reporting low participation compared to 59 per cent of those under little to no stress.
Renting also had significant consequences for a parent's village.
Almost one-in-five renters reported low satisfaction with their sense of belonging, compared to one-in-10 homeowners.
This is because renting generally entails short-term leases and more frequent moves, which can upend attempts to form long-term ties with neighbours, schools and local communities, the report says.
As a result, governments have been urged to address the housing crisis to mitigate its impact on families' abilities to support each other in raising children.
Australians living with people who have complex care responsibilities, such as disability, are also less likely to connect with their friends and extended family, with 40 per cent seeing them at least weekly compared to 50 per cent of families without those conditions.
Organisations working with these families and other vulnerable groups require better funding and support for practices that help families strengthen and contribute to their villages, the report found.
This has fuelled calls for the government to retain a mixed model of funding to support a "village" instead of relying solely on individualised funding models, like the ways the federal government funds disability through the National Disability Insurance Scheme or health via Medicare.
