Australia must legislate to end poverty

This Anti-Poverty Week, 11–17 October, the St Vincent de Paul Society is calling on the Albanese Government to legislate official measures of poverty and set targets to reduce it, with children at the centre.

Poverty in Australia is estimated to affect one in seven people (3.7 million Australians), including 757,000 children under 15 years, or one in six children. These unofficial estimates are based on household income, as Australia does not yet have an official national measure of poverty.

For hundreds of thousands of Australian children, poverty can mean missing out on adequate food, a safe and stable home, suitable clothing, education, health care and opportunities to participate fully in their community.

The Society is supporting Anti-Poverty Week’s call for the Australian Government to establish standard measures of poverty and targets to reduce it. It also urges our fellow Australians, community groups, businesses and organisations to advocate and work with government for change.

“It is a national disgrace that more than three-quarters of a million children in Australia are growing up in poverty, missing out on the stability, safety and opportunities they deserve,” said Mark Gaetani, St Vincent de Paul Society National President.

“Children do not earn an income, so unofficial measures focused only on household income can hide or understate the hardship they experience. We need standard indicators that show whether children have enough food, a secure place to live, and access to education, health care and community participation.”

Australia’s current poverty estimates are income-based, using a poverty line of 50 per cent of median household after-tax income: $584 a week for a single adult or $1,226 a week for a couple with two children. Around the world, 156 countries have official poverty measures using income measures, multidimensional measures, or both.

People in households below the poverty line in Australia had incomes averaging $390 per week below it after deducting their housing costs.

“Through our support services across Australia, the Society is answering ever-increasing calls for assistance from people to help them bridge the poverty gap,” Mr Gaetani said. “Underpinned by Catholic Social Teaching which recognises the dignity of every human being and commits us to the common good, we prioritise helping people living with the impact of the structural causes of poverty and disadvantage.”

The St Vincent de Paul Society calls on the Federal Government to:

• Legislate official poverty measures, including income-based and multidimensional measures, and report annually on progress

• Set national targets to reduce poverty

• Increase the base rate of working-age payments, particularly Parenting Payment (Single)

• Invest in stable public housing that gives children safety and supports engagement with school.

“Poverty in Australia is not inevitable,” Mr Gaetani said. “With the right policy settings, our government can reduce it, but it will require a clear national commitment, official measures of poverty, meaningful targets and practical investment in the supports that give every adult and child a fair chance at a decent life.”

Watch the Society’s Every Child Matters: An Australia free from child poverty webinar on YouTube.