Good call out Ryan 👍🇦🇺
When do we hear them quoting these stats. 👇👇👇👎🫢
Here's a summary of the key facts on Australian poverty, drawn from the most recent *Poverty in Australia 2025* report by ACOSS and UNSW Sydney:
**Scale of the problem**
3.7 million Australians — 14.2% of the population — were living below the poverty line in 2022–23. [UNSW Sites](
unsw.edu.au/newsroom/news/20…) This is the highest level since the HILDA survey began in 2000. [ACOSS](
povertyandinequality.acoss.o…)
**Children**
One in six children lives below the poverty line [Communitywork](
communitywork.org.au/resourc…) — 757,000 children in total, with a poverty rate of 15.6%. [ACOSS](
povertyandinequality.acoss.o…)
**The poverty line (in dollar terms)**
The poverty line works out to $584 a week for a single adult and $1,226 a week for a couple with two children. [ACOSS](
povertyandinequality.acoss.o…)
**Depth of poverty**
The average shortfall for people living in poverty was $390 per week after housing costs — a figure that has increased since 2019–20. For families with children in poverty, this figure was $464 per week. [World Socialist Web Site](
wsws.org/en/articles/2025/11…)
**Rising trend**
Poverty rose from 12.4% in 2020–21 to 14.2% in 2022–23, an increase of 593,000 people. [ACOSS](
povertyandinequality.acoss.o…) This rise was driven by the removal of COVID income supports and large increases in rents. From June 2021 to June 2023, median advertised rents for units rose 40% in Sydney, 34% in Melbourne, and 41% in Brisbane. [Analysis & Policy Observatory](
apo.org.au/node/332502)
**Welfare payments vs the poverty line**
After increases in September 2023, Youth Allowance payments for someone living away from home were still $279 per week below the poverty line, and JobSeeker for a single person was $205 below the line. [ACOSS](
povertyandinequality.acoss.o…)
**Most at-risk groups**
Single parents, people with disability, migrants, and First Nations peoples face the highest poverty rates. [Communitywork](
communitywork.org.au/resourc…)
**Food insecurity**
In 2023, Foodbank Victoria was distributing 71% more food than during the pandemic and 116% more than during the Black Summer bushfires. [World Socialist Web Site](
wsws.org/en/articles/2025/11…)
**Housing and rental crisis**
Out of 45,115 rental listings in one 2024 snapshot, only 160 properties (0.4% of the market) were affordable for a couple with two children on JobSeeker. [World Socialist Web Site](
wsws.org/en/articles/2025/11…)
The overall picture is one of worsening poverty in a wealthy nation, driven primarily by inadequate income support payments and a severe rental affordability crisis.