Be part of our next research project
Have you experienced poverty or hardship in the last 5 years?
Researchers at UNSW want to speak with people who have experienced poverty within the past 5 years, to better understand how it’s experienced day-to-day and over time, so that we can reshape conversations about poverty. The project is part of the Poverty and Inequality Partnership.
We aim to better understand the long-term impacts of these experiences for you, as well as how they might change over several years. The study is planned to run until 2031.
Poverty and disadvantage
We want to speak to people with varying experiences of poverty and disadvantage. This might include things like:
- Finding it hard to make ends meet;
- Unable to afford important things like food, medication, heating or cooling your home;
- Constantly having to choose between things you need but can’t afford.
You may have:
- Received JobSeeker or other Centrelink payments;
- Used a foodbank or other such program;
- Missed rent or mortgage payments regularly;
- Been without paid work without a means of supporting yourself;
- Been homeless or worried about becoming homeless.
You might also have experiences that are not listed above. If you’ve experienced poverty or disadvantage at any point over the past five years in a different way, we would still like to hear from you.
To register your interest in taking part, or if you have any questions, please contact the research team at [email protected] or (02) 9348 8415.
What's involved
Those who participate would be asked to do:
- A 5-minute screening questionnaire.
- Three online or phone interviews in 2026, 2028 and 2030, each taking approximately 1 hour to complete.
- Sharing a photograph of something from your everyday life approximately once every 6 months (six photographs in total).
To thank you for your time, we are offering pre-paid gift cards after completing each interview and each photo activity.
Eligibility
We’re looking for people who:
- Are currently living in Australia;
- Are aged 18 years or older;
- Can participate in the study until 2031;
- Have experienced poverty or disadvantage within the past five years.
A full description of all research activities, including any risks, harms or discomforts that you may experience while participating in this research, is available here. Please note this is for reference only; if you would like to take part in this research we will provide you an editable copy of the consent form.
This research is approved by the UNSW Human Research Ethics Committee (reference: iRECS9901)
Research team
Yuvisthi Naidoo
Mia Harrison
Megan Blaxland
Carla Treloar