Almost all births in Australia took place in hospitals (97%), in conventional labour wards. Of mothers who gave birth in hospital 3 in 4 (75%) did so in a public hospital. A small proportion of mothers gave birth elsewhere, including birth centres (2.3%), at home (0.3%), or in other settings (such as before arrival at hospital) (0.6%).
Home births are slightly more common mothers who have had 3 or more previous births (0.4%–0.5%), and are least common among first-time mothers (0.2%).