Key Points
- Anglicare Australia has released its annual Rental Affordability Snapshot.
- It found rental affordability has crashed, and the market is less affordable than ever.
- For someone on Youth Allowance, there were no affordable rentals on the market.
This article contains references to domestic violence and suicide/self-harm.
At the lowest point of her search for a roof over her head, Victorian resident Mary* says looking for a rental drove her to unimaginable depths.
“I thought you know, this is all too hard. It would just be easier to say goodbye,” the 50-year-old told SBS News.
A decade ago, Mary was forced to make a difficult decision: stay with an abusive partner, or flee the home she’d spent hundreds of thousands of dollars on in order to save her life.
She left and lived for years in regional Victoria, but an unaffordable rental increase after the pandemic hit forced her out. She was told to vacate the property by her landlord wanting to sell the home.
Even with help from locals in her area, over 80 possible rental properties fell through.
When she got an eviction notice, she was put on a government support waitlist, only to find later she had been removed from the list without any notice and told there were people worse off than her as priorities.
Finally, Mary found a property last month in an area “infamous for poverty”, she says. But it's costing her 53 per cent of her income on the disability support pension.
“It's that bone-deep knowledge that so many of us are forgotten and worthless that really hurts the most,” she says.
No affordable rentals for most vulnerable
Australians on Centrelink payments “don’t stand a chance” in the current market, according to
The report, which looked at 45,895 rental listings online on 17 March 2023, found affordability had crashed, and the market was less affordable than ever.
Affordability was assessed as being no more than 30 per cent of a household budget against a range of Centrelink payment rates, and the minimum wage.
The report found less than 1 per cent of rentals were affordable for a person on the age or disability support pensions. On the date the study was conducted, there were just 66 affordable properties for someone on the disability pension.
For someone on Youth Allowance, there was nothing on the market - not even a room in a share house.
Couples out of work, single parents relying on Centrelink, and Australians on the disability support pension were all dealing with a rental market where 0.2 per cent of rentals were affordable.
For the first time, the percentage of affordable rentals for a person on the minimum wage dropped to below 1 per cent.
Australians living on $30 a week after rent
Just four rentals across the country were affordable for a single person on JobSeeker, the report found. Those four were rooms in share houses.
The Anglicare report found no affordable rentals or share houses for someone on the JobSeeker payment in NSW's Illawarra region.
But for those in the area who do have a home, making ends meet is increasingly difficult on income support.
After paying his rent, Wollongong resident John* has just $30 a week to cover literally every living expense, including food.
“I can't buy phone credit, I can't pay my internet bill, I can't buy money to put on my travel card. There's just no way to stretch it to cover everything,” he told the Anglicare report.
‘Affordability worst we’ve ever seen’
Anglicare Australia said the issue was not just about supply, but an inadequate income support level.
Increasing supply in the private market has failed to make housing more affordable. The undersupply is not in housing, but in social and affordable housing, it added.
“Each year, we think the market couldn’t get any worse. And each year, we’re shocked to see that it can,” said Anglicare Australia Executive Director Kasy Chambers.
“This year’s result is the worst we have ever seen for a person on the minimum wage, with affordability halving over the last year.
“If full-time wage earners are doing it tough, then people on Centrelink payments don’t stand a chance.”
The Australian Council of Social Service said the “shocking” findings pushed the case for an increase in Centrelink payments at the Budget.
“Every day we hear from people who are skipping meals and living with their lights turned off so they can afford keep a roof over their head,” Cassandra Goldie, CEO of ACOSS said.
“Others have been forced to live in cars or tents to survive. This should not be happening in the wealthiest country in the world.”
National Shelter, which represents the housing interests of low-income households, said Commonwealth Rent Assistance should be increased.
* Names have been changed
If you or someone you know is impacted by family and domestic violence, call 1800RESPECT on 1800 737 732 or visit . In an emergency, call 000.
Readers seeking crisis support can contact Lifeline on 13 11 14, the Suicide Call Back Service on 1300 659 467 and Kids Helpline on 1800 55 1800 (for young people aged up to 25). More information and support with mental health is available at beyondblue.org.au and on 1300 22 4636.
