In 2022-23 one in seven people, including one in six children, lived below the poverty line, according to a new report published by the Australian Council of Social Services.
Using the latest available data from the Melbourne Institute’s HILDA survey, ACOSS found that:
The poverty line based on 50% of median household income ranged from $584 per week for a single person to $1,226 per week for a couple with two children.
One in seven people (14.2%) and one in six children (15.6%) lived below the poverty line after taking account of their housing costs.
In total, there were over three million (3,706,000) people in poverty, including 757,000 children.
People in households below the poverty line had incomes averaging $390 per week below it (the ‘poverty gap’) after deducting their housing costs. The average poverty gap was 47% of the poverty line.
Over the two years after COVID lockdowns ended, from 2020-21 to 2022-23, poverty increased due to the removal of COVID income supports and large increases in rents.
The proportion of all people in poverty rose by 1.8 percentage points from 12.4% (one in seven) in 2020-21 to 14.2% (one in six) in 2022-23. The number of people in poverty increased by 593,000 (including 134,000 children). The poverty rate in 2022-23 was also slightly above its pre-COVID level of 13.4% (the average of poverty rates in 2017-18 and 2018-19) despite reductions in unemployment during this period.2
One reason for the increase in poverty after 2020-21 was the abolition of the Coronavirus Supplement in April 2021. While JobSeeker and related payments were permanently increased by $25 per week at this time, this represented a net $250 per week cut in maximum income support payments for those affected ($500 a week for couples).
A second reason for this increase in poverty was a large increase in housing costs, especially rents. From June 2021 to June 2023, the median advertised rent for units rose from $486 per week to $680 in Sydney (40%), from $395 to $528 in Melbourne (34%), and from $394 to $554 in Brisbane (31%). When existing tenancies are included, average rents rose more gradually but still increased by 12% over the two years from December 2021 to December 2023, compared with just 1% from 2017 to 2019 and a reduction of 1% from 2019 to 2021.
Higher rents especially impacted people with the lowest incomes. The proportion of people in households in the lowest 20% (ranked by income) who spent 30% or more of their income on rent (referred to as rental stress) rose from 52% in 2020-21 to 57% in 2022-23.
For those living below the poverty line, the depth of poverty also increased from 2020-21 to 2022-23.
The average gap between incomes of people in poverty and the poverty line increased from $372 per week in 2020-21 to $390 in 2022-23.
In response to these developments, ACOSS proposes the following policies to reduce poverty:
Lift the lowest income support payments (including Youth Allowance, JobSeeker Payment and Parenting Payment Single) to a benchmark level of adequacy , taking account of essential living costs, relativities with other income support payments and wages.
In addition, introduce and improve income support supplements to cover essential costs above and beyond basic income support, including the extra costs of sole parenthood, disability and rent assistance.
Commit to full employment based on targets which guarantee there are enough jobs and paid working hours overall for people who need them.
Invest in effective employment services to end the entrenched economic exclusion of people such as those unemployed long-term, First Nations communities, people with disability and older people; and to improve access to decent jobs and careers for people entering or returning to paid work including young people, parents and carers.
Set and fund clear social housing targets to address unmet housing need and strengthen rental protections, including protections against excessive rent increases.
SOURCE
Poverty in Australia: Overview (ACOSS)
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ACOSS
Enquiry
See
Have you noticed an increase in the number of people struggling in your area?
Among your workmates?
How does this affect them and their families?
In your view, what are the causes?
Judge
In his Apostolic Exhortation, Dilexi Te, Pope Leo writes:
The condition of the poor is a cry that, throughout human history, constantly challenges our lives, societies, political and economic systems, and, not least, the Church. On the wounded faces of the poor, we see the suffering of the innocent and, therefore, the suffering of Christ himself.
At the same time, we should perhaps speak more correctly of the many faces of the poor and of poverty, since it is a multifaceted phenomenon. In fact, there are many forms of poverty: the poverty of those who lack material means of subsistence, the poverty of those who are socially marginalised and lack the means to give voice to their dignity and abilities, moral and spiritual poverty, cultural poverty, the poverty of those who find themselves in a condition of personal or social weakness or fragility, the poverty of those who have no rights, no space, no freedom.
How do you think we need to respond as Christians to the rise in poverty?
Act
Is there a specific action that you could take in response to this increase in poverty?
If you belong to a group, what could you do together?