The surging cost of living is having a devastating impact for people on income support, with six in 10 eating less or reporting difficulty getting medicine or care, according to a new report by the Australian Council of Social Services.
The disturbing results are revealed in a report titled, ‘How JobSeeker and other income support payments are falling behind the cost of living’.
It surveyed 449 people living on JobSeeker, Youth Allowance and Parenting Payment between July and August 2022 to gauge how they are managing to cover the cost of basic goods and services in the face of skyrocketing living costs.
The JobSeeker Payment is just $48 a day and Youth Allowance is just $38 a day. To put these rates of payment in perspective, it costs approximately $80 to fill a small car with unleaded fuel. Median rents for a unit are around $460 per week, or $65 a day.
ACOSS acting CEO, Edwina MacDonald, said the existing income support system was woefully inadequate.
“People on low, fixed incomes were already struggling with covering basic costs before the cost of living skyrocketed,” Ms MacDonald said. “Economists and commentators speak reassuringly of ‘buffers’ but there is no buffer when your income is $48 a day, let alone in the face of surging prices for petrol, food, and rent.”
Among the report key findings, the found that 62 per cent have had difficulty getting medication or medical care due to the increased cost of living. Almost all (96 per cent) said that the inability to cover the cost of living harmed their physical and mental health; 62 per cent are eating less or skipping meals while 71 per cent are cutting back on meat, fresh fruit, and vegetables; and 96 per cent of people renting privately are in rental stress, paying more than 30 per cent of their income on rent.
“The measures we propose are proportionate to the challenge. It is simply unfathomable to inflict more stress on people who are already struggling to cover basic costs,” Ms MacDonald said.