Struggling Australians on income support cut back on life essentials: report

A survey by the Australian Council of Social Service (ACOSS) found that three-quarters of people reliant on payments such as JobSeeker, Youth Allowance and the Parenting Payment had reduced their consumption of meat, fruit and vegetables because they don’t have enough cash.

The Raise the Rate Survey 2024 report also revealed that three out of four people receiving income support struggled to afford the medicine or medical care they needed.

The introduction to the report said that while Australia faces rising unemployment, resulting in more people needing income support payments to get by, recipients report feeling isolated, embarrassed, sick and dejected because they do not have enough money.

The study is the latest in a long line of academic research commissioned by sector organisations ranging from the Brotherhood of St Laurence to Mission Australia and Anglicare highlighting the increasingly dire circumstances of Australians grappling with economic disadvantage.

The latest findings prompted ACOSS to call on the federal government to increase income support payments for more than 1.4 million Australians to at least $80 a day – in line with the pension rate.

ACOSS acting CEO Edwina MacDonald described the survey findings as deeply disturbing and a source of national shame.

“The shockingly low rate of income support is seriously damaging people’s physical and mental health,” she said.

“The reality is that if you receive JobSeeker or a related income support payment, you are unable to afford essentials and are forced into a life of poverty and deprivation.”

The ACOSS survey of 760 people living on JobSeeker, Youth Allowance and Parenting Payment, conducted in July and August, also revealed:

• more than half of respondents admitted to skipping meals because they don’t have enough money
  
  
• about 68% have been forced to cut back on heating or cooling their homes
  
  
• more than half (54%) are turning off the lights or going to bed early to save money
  
  
• eight out of ten have reduced their car use, while 87% see friends and family less often
  
  
• 94% of people renting privately are in rental stress, paying more than 30% of their income on rent.

More than 92% of those surveyed said the low rate of income support was detrimental to their mental health.

As well as calling for an increase in income support to match the pension rate, ACOSS called for payments to be indexed to wages as well as price fluctuations.

It also urged the government to introduce a single-parent payment and establish of a disability and illness supplement in recognition of the extra costs faced by people with disability and chronic illness.

Ms MacDonald said income support should help people get through tough times, not keep them in a struggle for survival.

“Australia has one of the lowest income support payments among wealthy nations, and the OECD has recommended increasing them,” she said.

“The government must urgently lift these payments to a liveable level.”

More information

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