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Sydney research: nearly 2 million Australians in income-support households live in poverty
A report by ACOSS and the UNSW Sydney-led Poverty and Inequality Partnership, released at the start of Anti-Poverty Week, finds three in four people in households relying on JobSeeker or Youth Allowance are below the poverty line.
Why it matters
On the first day of Australia's Anti-Poverty Week, the Australian Council of Social Service (ACOSS) and the UNSW Sydney-led Poverty and Inequality Partnership released 'Poverty in Australia 2026: Who is affected'. The report finds that almost two million Australians in households relying mainly on income support were below the poverty line, with three in four people in households relying on JobSeeker and Youth Allowance living in poverty.
Full report
In 2022–23, half of all people in households relying mainly on income support were living in poverty — around 1.9 million people, including children. The risk was highest in households relying mainly on the JobSeeker Payment (76%), Youth Allowance (73%) and Parenting Payment (71%). People in households relying on JobSeeker had incomes averaging $331 a week below the poverty line; for Parenting Payment households the gap was $236 a week.
ACOSS CEO Dr Cassandra Goldie said: 'JobSeeker, Youth Allowance and Parenting Payments are so low they are forcing people into poverty... This is a policy choice and the government can fix it.' The report urges the government to cut living costs for low-income households and strengthen the safety net for those who cannot access paid work. UNSW Scientia Professor Carla Treloar said the payments leave people far from covering the basics, and substantially lifting them would go a long way to closing the gaps.
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