Housing costs of lowest 20% compared with middle 20%, among people aged <65 and 65+ (in $2017-18 per week)
This graph shows trends in average weekly housing costs for people of different ages in the lowest and middle 20% of households by income (adjusted for family size). [infogram id="_/0k2Uaqx54y88BU0NEdRz" prefix="uGA" format="interactive" title="Housing costs of lowest 20% compared with middle 20% among people aged &amp;gt;65 years and 65yrs+"] Note that these amounts are adjusted downwards for household size, so they are much lower than average housing costs – for example – for a family of four people. It shows that housing costs grew strongly from 2005-06 to 2017-18, especially among the lowest 20% of working-age households by income. From 2005-06 to 2017-18, average housing costs for the lowest 20% of working-age households (under 65 years) grew more than twice as fast as those of the middle 20% (by 42% compared 15%). Among the lowest 20% of working age households, average housing costs rose from $103pw to $146pw. Average housing costs for the middle 20% rose from $166pw to…
Comparison of poverty lines with pension and Newstart (now JobSeeker) payments for singles and couples without children (in $2017-18 per annum)
[infogram id="_/Z6uPcuCsRqxPeqAgNifT" prefix="jSE" format="interactive" title="Comparison of poverty lines with pension and Newstart payments for singles and couples without children"] Social security policies clearly have an impact on poverty, for better or for worse. Because most major income support payments are below the poverty line, in order to escape poverty people need to supplement or replace them with private income from other sources. This graph compares trends in maximum pension and Newstart Allowance rates and poverty lines from 1999-00 to 2017-2018. It shows that while Newstart Allowance for singles was consistently well below the poverty line, it was above the line for couples up until 2004. This reflects an historical legacy: unlike payments for singles, unemployment payments for couples were tied to the pension rate until 1998. In contrast, pension rates for both singles and couples have closely tracked poverty lines. One reason for this is that pensions are indexed…
Income support policy and poverty trends
Presentation to the Australian Social Policy Conference, September 2019, by Bruce Bradbury, Social Policy Research Centre, UNSW Sydney: Income support policy and poverty trends in 21st century Australia
Share of people with different characteristics in the lowest and highest 20% income groups
[infogram id="_/k7PItYM11dctrnaS6qon" prefix="9Id" format="interactive" title="Fig.4_ Share of people with different characteristics in the lowest 20% of households (2016)"] The first half of this graph shows the share of each group of people with a particular characteristic who are in the lowest 20% income group of households. Older people, single people and sole parents, and those who rely mainly on government income support payments are more likely to be in the lowest 20% income group. The most important influence on incomes is labour force status. People living in households where the household reference person is not in the labour force or is unemployed are much more likely to be in the lowest 20% income group. People living in Tasmania and South Australia are also more likely to be in lowest 20%, along with people living outside capital cities. The second half of this graph shows that those more likely to be in the highest 20% income group are of working-age and in couple…
Average household incomes for different income groups
This table shows the average income of households in Australia, split by groups of 20% by income; as well as the highest and lowest 10% and 5% income groups. [infogram id="_/nYVwrntWRdPEhIvWChtu" prefix="FS4" format="interactive" title="Average household incomes for different groups in 2015-16 ($p/w)"] 2017-18: Somebody in the highest 20% group lives in a household with over twice the average weekly disposable income of the middle 20% ($4,166 per week compared with $1,884), and five times as much disposable income of a household in the lowest 20% ($753 per week). The average income of the middle 20% ($1,884a week) is two and half times that of the lowest 20% ($753). Income is heavily concentrated at the top: average income in the highest 5% (at $5,796) is more than one-and-a-half times the average of the highest 20%. 2015-16: This shows that somebody in the highest 20% group lived in a household with over twice the average weekly disposable income of the middle 20% ($3,978 per week…
Trends in real average household disposable income
This graph shows the average annual growth in household after-tax incomes for each quintile from 1999-00 to 2019-20. [infogram id="_/4AcGK7i1Rs99VN0hqR1a" prefix="E95" format="interactive" title="2023_Trends in average weekly after tax income from 1999-00 to 2019-20 (in 2019 dollars)"] During the period up to 2007, growth in high incomes surpassed that of middle and lower-income households. The average after-tax incomes of the highest 20% rose by 40% from $2,658 per week in 1999 to $3,728 in 2007, compared with an increase of 32% from $1,348 to $1,784 for the middle 20% and an increase of 31% from $535 to $700 for the lowest 20%. The highest 5% of households saw their incomes grow even more strongly during the boom, from $3,620 a week to $5,773, a steep 59% increase. After the Global Financial Crisis (GFC) in 2008, growth in household incomes flatlined, along with income inequality. The average after-tax incomes of the highest 20% rose by 4% from $3,728 in 2007 to $3,895 in 2019-20,…
Who sits in the lowest 40% and top 20%?
[infogram id="_/KSuFVggwzsMNq1wypzo5" prefix="dwC" format="interactive" title="Fig.3_Who sits in the lowest 40% and top 20%?"] This shows what kinds of households sit in the highest, middle and lowest 20% household income groups, by main income source and the employment status of the household reference person (usually the household member with the highest income). It shows that most people in the lowest 20% are in households that rely mainly on government pensions and allowances (60%) for their income. Unsurprisingly, most (58%) of people in the lowest 20% belong to households in which the reference person is not in the labour force (for example, retired, has a disability, or caring for a family member)Another 7% are in households whose reference person is unemployed. More surprisingly, 20% of the lowest income group are in households whose reference person is employed full time. These are mainly families with children, since we have adjusted their household incomes downwards to…
Average weekly disposable income
These charts show average weekly household incomes (including social security payments and after tax has been deducted), by household income group in 2015-16 and 2017-18. For this purpose, individuals have been divided into five equal groups ranked by household income. At the highest and lowest ends of the income scale, extra columns have been added to show the average household incomes of the highest and lowest 10% and 5%. [infogram id="_/xFFrbRKngRI6gFb6WFLu" prefix="d9p" format="interactive" title="Average weekly disposable income by household income group_2023"] 2019-20: The highest 20% income group received $4,306 per week after tax ($305,000 per year before tax) twice the disposable income of the middle 20% ($1,989 per week or $122,000 per annum) and five times that of the lowest 20% ($794 per week or $43,000 per annum). The highest 5% (with $6,495 per week or $569,000 per annum) had three times the disposable income of the middle 20% and eight times that of the lowest 20%.…
Average weekly disposable income
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