Pushing back on persistent poverty

This year's focus is on child poverty, with organisers urging Australians to better understand poverty and act collectively to end it.

While poverty is in the spotlight this week, many ‘frontline organisations work year-round to combat entrenched disadvantage.

Organisations such as Foodbank, whose Hunger report 2024 released this week revealed almost half of low-income households have faced food insecurity this year, are not only working hard to alleviate the effects of poverty on struggling Australians, but also documenting its impact and advocating to do something about it.

New research released to coincide with Anti-Poverty Week by national child protection charity Act for Kids revealed that children are among the worst affected by the cost-of-living crisis.

A survey of more than 1000 Australians revealed cases of children living in overcrowded homes and parents skipping their medication to pay for groceries in families battling rising costs.

The survey found:

• 43% of people were struggling to afford health care for their family,

• 30% were having difficulty paying for their children’s basic educational needs

• almost one-in-three Australians were struggling to buy food to put on the table

• more than a quarter reported difficulty affording internet access

• 40% were finding it tough to pay for their children’s sporting activities and hobbies

• 37% of people were struggling to pay rent or mortgage

Act for Kids CEO Dr Katrina Lines said the demand for front line services and impact on children had never been greater.

“These current cost-of-living pressures are compounding the issues families are already facing and we are concerned that the cohort will get bigger,” said Dr Lines.

Dr Lines said that Act for Kids spending on food vouchers for families in need had increased 12% over the past two years, while the cost of providing essential items such as furniture, household items, clothing and shoes had surged 14%.

“Australians tend to think of child poverty as an issue for developing countries overseas, but it's happening right here on our doorstep and it’s impacting on the safety, health and wellbeing of children and young people,” she said.

Dr Lines said when families were worried about keeping a roof over their head or affording groceries, the pressure on parents was enormous, making it more difficult to create a safe and stable environment for children.

“Every child deserves to grow up in a safe home where they feel protected, but when families are pushed to breaking point financially, it makes it harder for parents to be emotionally available for their kids.”

Dr Lines expressed concern that the strain on families from the cost-of-living crisis would have long-term impacts on children’s wellbeing.

“Evidence strongly shows that children living in poverty face a greater risk of poor developmental outcomes in later childhood, weaker cognitive and social development and lower overall health.”

Act for Kids concerns add to a growing body of research and anecdotal experience shared by not-for-profit and charity organisations confronting poverty in what author Donald Horne once ironically called "the Lucky Country.''

The Anti-Poverty Week website reveals more than 3.24 million people in Australia live below the poverty line. One-in-six (774,000) are children.

The link between poverty and affordable housing

Mission Australia CEO Sharon Callister said poverty and the lack of affordable housing were the primary drivers of homelessness, affecting families nationwide.

"To put it another way, we need to end poverty and expand Australia’s affordable housing supply to make sure that homelessness becomes rare, brief, and non-recurring,” Callister said.

Mission Australia's recent Cost of Living: Counting the Costs report revealed one-in-five young people experienced financial stress in 2023, representing an often-hidden cohort facing homelessness.

Callister said Mission Australia's frontline staff witness stories of hope and struggle daily.

"They know firsthand how homelessness, deeply entwined with poverty, extends beyond just lacking a physical home to impact mental health, access to employment and overall quality of life.

"Many individuals we assist grapple not only with the immediate challenge of securing stable housing but also with the ongoing difficulty of affording essentials and rebuilding their lives."

Callister stressed that breaking the link between poverty and homelessness was is essential to improving people's lives.

"Inadequate income support, soaring living costs and a critical shortage of social and affordable housing only deepen the crisis, making it even more challenging for individuals and families to break free from their precarious situations."

Economic mobility

Productivity Commission research found Australians in poverty faced some of the highest barriers to economic mobility.

The report, Fairly equal? Economic mobility in Australia, released in July, found that the poverty rate in Australia had slowly increased over recent years, with about one- in- seven Australians experiencing poverty in 2022 – the highest level since 2001.

"Most Australians have had a good opportunity to climb the income ladder, but it’s a much harder climb for Australians living in poverty,” said Productivity Commissioner Catherine de Fontenay.

The report showed renters, people from migrant backgrounds who do not speak English at home and single parents were among the groups most at risk of poverty.

The research also found people who live in disadvantaged neighbourhoods, including those in remote locations, are more likely to remain in poverty.

Productivity Commissioner Danielle Wood said policymakers needed to ensure support was targeted to where people need it the most.

"Australia really has been the ‘land of the fair go’ for many, but we can’t ignore what’s happening for people in poverty."

Measuring poverty

The Brotherhood of St Laurence is among the many sector organisations that have been vocal about the need to address systemic poverty in Australia.

In September it invited Sabina Alkire, professor of poverty and human development at the University of Oxford, to deliver the Brotherhood of St Laurence Sambell Oration.

Professor Alkire, a leading international expert on social disadvantage, called for Australia to follow the lead of countries such as Canada and New Zealand in officially measuring poverty.

She said measuring poverty mattered because it would not only provide public recognition of distressing levels of disadvantage, but if done correctly, could result in new and creative approaches to alleviating poverty.

While many poverty indicators, such as employment, health, and education, were already monitored in Australia, these should be combined with monetary factors into a single multidimensional poverty index (MPI).

"I am not suggesting poverty measures that would induce guilt, paralysis or a dread and feeling nothing can be done,” said Professor Alkire.

"Rather, [they would] make visible disadvantage and disparities in ways that can be linked to action."

Action on addressing systemic poverty is also something Mission Australia's Sharon Callister would like to see.

"As we observe Anti-Poverty Week, let’s reaffirm our commitment to breaking the link between poverty and homelessness and paving the way for a future where everyone has a secure place to call home,” she said.

"By addressing both the immediate needs of individuals and families, as well as the systemic causes of poverty, we can dismantle the barriers that perpetuate homelessness and build a society where every individual has the opportunity to thrive with dignity and stability."

More information

Oxford expert calls for uniform approach for measuring poverty

From poverty to possibility: charities look for practical solutions to help low- income earners

New research confirms continued cost-of-living pain for struggling Australians