Empirical research on fertility among China-born migrants has largely focused on realised fertility patterns, while fertility intentions have received comparatively limited attention. This thesis examines the fertility intentions of China-born migrants in Australia by considering not only sociodemographic and migration-related characteristics, but also domestic time use, gender-role attitudes, and culturally embedded family values. Using self-collected survey data from 2024, the study applies ordered logistic regression models to examine how these factors relate to fertility intentions.

The findings reveal persistent gender differences, with China-born women generally reporting lower fertility intentions than men. Family and migration circumstances also matter. Cohabiting China-born migrants tend to report higher fertility intentions than those who have never married, suggesting that cohabitation may function as a transitional stage towards marriage and family formation. In contrast, respondents with more than one child consistently report lower intentions to have more children. Changes in migration status are also associated with fertility intentions that former international students who have transitioned to other visa categories report higher fertility intentions than those who remain international students, pointing to the importance of settlement and integration processes.

Domestic time use remains strongly gendered. China-born women devote substantially more time to household work than China-born men, indicating the persistence of gender stratification within the domestic sphere after migration. Greater housework involvement is associated with lower fertility intentions among men, whereas the same pattern is not evident among women. Comparisons with Australia-born respondents further suggest that China-born migrants face intersecting constraints tied to both gender and migration. The divergence between egalitarian attitudes and unequal domestic practices also indicates that support for gender equality alone may be insufficient to reshape fertility intentions when household responsibilities remain unevenly distributed.

Cultural attitudes also help explain fertility intentions. Stronger endorsement of filial obligation, family-line continuation, traditional motherhood, and intergenerational support is generally associated with higher fertility intentions. These relationships are also gendered, particularly for norms concerning filial responsibility and patrilineal continuity. Age at migration reveals a more complex pattern of cultural adaptation. China-born migrants who arrived before age 18 and retained traditional family values often report higher fertility intentions, whereas those arriving between ages 26 and 35 show weaker associations. Overall, the thesis demonstrates that fertility intentions among China-born migrants are shaped by the intersection of gender, migration, domestic inequality, and cultural continuity rather than by assimilation or socioeconomic characteristics alone.

Feier Chen is a PhD candidate in the School of Demography at the Australian National University. She holds a Bachelor of Arts in History and Sociology and a master’s in social policy from the University of Melbourne. Her research focuses on family, gender, and fertility, with a particular interest in cross-disciplinary research.

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