This table shows the number and percentage of people who live below the 50% and 60% of median income poverty lines in 2022-23, the latest data available, as well as previously in 2019-20, 2017-18 and 2015-16. It also shows the ‘poverty gap’, a measure of the depth of poverty for those living below the poverty line (the average gap between the incomes of people in poverty and the poverty line). It is important to measure poverty gaps, because even if the rate of poverty is reduced, this could still leave many people living well below the poverty line.
2022-23: After taking account of housing costs, over one in seven people (14.2%) live below the 50% of median income poverty line. The poverty rate among children is higher, over one in six children (15.6%). There are 3,706,244 people living in poverty in Australia. This figure includes 756,734 children. The ‘poverty gap’ is 47% of the poverty line, or $390 a week. That is, people below the poverty line have incomes that are, on average, $390 a week below the line. For families with children, that gap is $464 a week.
2019-20: The table is structured differently for the 2019-20 period, as we showed the data by quarter to show the change to the number and percentage of people in poverty due to the increase in income support payments during the COVID-19 period. On average, in 2019-20 more than one in eight people (13.4%) livd below the 50% of the median income poverty line after taking account of housing costs. The poverty rate among children was much higher at one in six (16.6%). In total, there were over three million (3,319,000) people in poverty, including 761,000 children. The average ‘poverty gap’ was $304 per week, which was 42% of the poverty line. That is, people in households below the poverty line had incomes that average $304 per week below the line, after deducting housing costs. The table also shows that the number of people in poverty fell by 646,000 from 3,606,000 to 2,961,000 between the March and June quarters of 2020. The percentage of people in poverty fell by 2.6 percentage points from 14.6% to 12%. The number of children in poverty also fell dramatically and the decline was proportionately greater than for poverty among adults. In June 2020 there were 245,000 fewer children in poverty as child poverty declined from 873,000 to 628,000. The rate of child poverty fell by 5.3 percentage points from 19% to 13.7%. Over the same period, the average poverty gap declined by $13 per week from $323 to $310.
2017-18: After taking account of housing costs, over one in eight people (13.6%) lived below the 50% of median income poverty line. The poverty rate among children was much higher, over one in six children (17.7%). The poverty rate among young people (aged 15-24) was 13.9%. There were 3,239,000 people living in poverty in Australia. This figure included 774,000 children and 424,800 young people. The ‘poverty gap’ was 42% of the poverty line, or $282 a week. That is, people below the poverty line had incomes that were, on average, $282 a week below the line. This average figure includes larger households. Since this figure is not adjusted for household size (equivalised) it is higher than the average poverty gap for – for example, a single person living alone.
2015-16: After taking account of housing costs, more than one in eight people (13.2%) lived below the 50% of median income poverty line. The poverty rate among children was much higher, more than one in six (17.3%). All told, there were then 3.05 million people in poverty, including 739,000 children. The ‘poverty gap’ was 38% of the (after-housing) poverty line, or $135 per week. That is, people below the poverty line had incomes that average $135 per week below the line. Note that the dollar measure of the poverty gap for 2015 is adjusted downwards for household size (equivalised), so it is much lower than the dollar poverty gap reported for 2017 (which is calculated on a different basis).
