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The poverty rate of Australians in terms of jobseeker experience compared to the general population has been measured in a landmark study.
Australian Council of Social Services research by the Poverty and Inequality Partnership found one in two people receiving government support was deprived, compared with about one in 12 people nationally.
Multiple material deprivation is when a person lacks two or more basic necessities because he cannot afford them.
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These include a decent and secure home, an annual dental check-up and $500 in emergency savings.
The report found that eight groups are at particularly high risk of hardship, including people looking for work, paying for parents, receiving disability pension or youth allowance.
Single-parent families, Indigenous people and renters are among those at risk.
JobSeeker is $56 per day while Pension is $82 per day.
Sydney resident Julie McKenzie, a disability pensioner in her mid-50s, said the constant lack of funds determined her every decision.
“It causes a lot of grief and means I’m very vulnerable. I’m always in survival mode,” McKenzie told AAP.
“When all your money is spent on the bare essentials and you know the prices are hitting you, where can you go from here? What else can be cut?
“Even when you’re doing all the right things, going up in price is just going to get you.”
One in three people on the bill don’t have at least $500 in emergency savings, one-third can’t afford homeowner’s insurance, and one in five couldn’t afford dental care.
The report uses data from the Australian Survey of Households, Incomes and Labor and identifies 23 essential goods and services considered by the majority of Australians to be must-haves.
It measures how many people do not have these items because they cannot afford them.
The insight is evidence that more protections and higher income support payments are needed for Australians, ACOSS chief executive Cassandra Goldie said.
“This tells us that Jobseeker’s Allowance, Youth Allowance and related payments are so terribly low that people cannot afford the basics of life,” she said.
“The extremely high rates of deprivation among low-wealth and low-income people, such as students, show the important role that wealth plays as a buffer against poverty.”
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