The number of people living in poverty in Australia has increased to 1 in 7, according to a new ACOSS and UNSW Report released at the start of Anti-Poverty Week.
As many as 14.2% of the population – or 3.7 million people – were living below the poverty line in 2022-23, according to the Poverty In Australia 2025: Overview report by the ACOSS and UNSW Sydney-led Poverty and Inequality Partnership, using the latest available data from the HILDA survey.
That marked an increase from 12.4% of the population – or 1 in 8 people – in 2020-21.
The study found the poverty rate for children is 1 in 6, equalling 757,000 children.
“This research shows that 1 in 7 people are now living in poverty. This is unacceptable in one of the wealthiest countries in the world,” said Dr Yuvisthi Naidoo, Senior Research Fellow at UNSW’s Social Policy Research Centre.
“The number of people living in poverty decreased in 2020 due to the temporary effective doubling of JobSeeker through the Covid supplement – but has since sharply risen to be now above pre-pandemic levels, with the removal of the Covid payments and dramatic rising housing costs.
“The steep increase in rents in recent years has had a particularly severe impact on people with the lowest incomes.”
The Report found that 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 (41%).
ACOSS CEO Dr Cassandra Goldie said the findings showed much greater action is needed to tackle poverty.
“While the Government has taken some steps to reduce the number of people living in poverty, including advocating for minimum wage increases, delivering small increases to JobSeeker and Rent Assistance, and reforming payments for single parents, it must do much more,” said Dr Goldie.
“The Government must fix woefully inadequate income support payments, set targets to boost social housing stock and commit to full employment. It should also adopt time-linked targets for poverty reduction and track progress.”
The Report found the poverty line, based on 50% of median household after-tax income, is $584 a week for a single adult and $1,226 a week for a couple with two children. People in households below the poverty line had household incomes averaging $390 per week below the line. Families with children in poverty were on average $464 below the poverty line.
Sharon Calister, CEO of Mission Australia, said: “More people in Australia are now living in poverty, and this confirms what our frontline staff see every day: individuals and families are being pushed to the brink by soaring housing and living costs, combined with inadequate income support. Far too many are at risk of or experiencing homelessness as a result.
“Poverty and homelessness are deeply interconnected. Without adequate income support and access to safe, affordable homes, people can’t meet basic needs or plan for the future. We urgently need real increases to income support payments, greater investment in social and affordable housing, and early intervention services that keep people safely housed.”
Acting CEO of Jesuit Social Services, Michael Livingstone, said: “This report shows that the rate of people living in poverty decreased during the pandemic, but has since risen above pre-pandemic levels. When the JobSeeker payment was temporarily doubled, our participants told us they no longer had to decide between buying warm clothes in winter or essential medication – they could finally afford both. Everybody deserves to live a dignified life, and we urge our political leaders to urgently lift income support to support this.”
Read the report at: https://bit.ly/povertyoverview2025