A futurologist says “bold steps” need to be taken in order to reverse the current birthrate levels in Australia.

The declining levels lead Tom Elliott to question whether it was time to bring the baby bonus back, which in 2004 was launched by then-treasurer Peter Costello and offered a once-off $3,000 payment.

Futurologist and professor Rocky Scopelliti says it was time to take immediate action on birth rates, rather than waiting until it was too late.

Click PLAY to hear whether we should bring back the baby bonus 

“There’s no silver bullet to reversing a decline in birth rates,” he said on 3AW Drive.

“Are we going to kick the can down the road like we did with climate change on this issue or are we going to take some bold steps.”