This factsheet was produced by Anti-Poverty Network SA, a grassroots community advocacy organisation led by people directly affected by the poverty crisis and the housing crisis.

To download a PDF version of this factsheet, click here; or to download a print-friendly version of this factsheet, click here.

5 Facts About Poverty And Housing

At Least 1 In 7 Adults In Poverty
At least 1 in 7 adults are living in poverty. The situation is worse for households where the main income-earner is unemployed (62% in poverty), and sole-parents (34% in poverty).

JobSeeker Over $200/Week Below Poverty-Line
JobSeeker pays $397/week, which is $264/week below the Henderson Poverty-Line ($661/week). It is one of the lowest unemployment payments in the wealthy world. In fact, all our welfare payments are below the Henderson Poverty-Line. (For further info about the low rate of JobSeeker, see our JobSeeker Factsheet).

People On JobSeeker Missing Out
According to ACOSS (2024), People receiving JobSeeker are:

  • 14 times more likely to go without a full daily meal
  • 9 times more likely to lack a phone or a car
  • 8 times more likely to lack access to home internet or a washing machine

Housing Costs Out Of Control
SA’s housing market has skyrocketed since COVID – since April 2020: 

According to Anglicare’s Rental Affordability Snapshots, less than 1% of rentals are affordable for people on JobSeeker, and other payments.

Public Housing Waiting List Still Huge
According to the Productivity Commission (2024), SA still has over 14,000 on the waiting list. While there has been some progress towards building new public housing, the number of new built public homes has very been modest. After 2026/2027, we will not be building enough new public housing to even match population growth, let alone meet need.

If our public housing waiting list were a town, it would be the 8th-largest town in SA.

Things Governments Can Do To Tackle Poverty Crisis + Housing Insecurity

Federal Government

  • Raise ALL Centrelink Payments To The Poverty-Line
    • This is an incredibly wealthy nation – no one should have to live on an income where it is a struggle to look after their health, keep a roof over their head, and be part of their community.1
    • We lifted huge numbers of people out of poverty in 2020, when the COVID Supplement temporarily doubled JobSeeker and Youth Allowance. We can do it again – all it would take is political will – political will that has been missing from the Albanese Government.
  • End Taxpayer Handouts For Property Investors – Fund Public Housing
    • The Negative Gearing and Capital Gains tax breaks costs the community at least several billion dollars per year, funds that could be spent on building the massive numbers of public homes we need across the country.
    • Why is it the community’s job to subsidise property investors? These wasteful handouts are contributing to soaring housing costs, by fuelling speculation that benefits the rich, and harming those trying to find somewhere to live.

State Government

  • Freeze Rents For 2 Years, Then Introduce Rent-Caps
    • Rents are soaring, way above people’s incomes. There have been moves to strengthen renters’ rights, but there are still no limits to how much landlords can increase the rent.
    • It is time for the State Government to protect renters from greedy rent rises, with a temporary rent-pause, followed by rent rises being limited to inflation.
  • Make Public Transport Cheaper
    • For those on the lowest incomes, cheaper public transport fares would help them to be mobile, meet their commitments, and participate in everyday life.
    • In SA, both the Liberals and the Greens are calling for 50-cent fares – it is time for the State Government to follow.

“Payments being so far below the poverty line means I can’t afford to eat and take care of my medical needs. I have to choose between the two. Nobody should have to make these choices.” – Mel, Anti-Poverty Network SA member

  1. We also think that Partner Income Tests need to be abolished – everyone should have their own independent, adequate source of income, and not have to rely on their partners’ income to support them – stay tuned for a new campaign on this issue. ↩︎

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