KEY POINTS
- A number of income support payments will rise on Monday.
- Australia's peak welfare body has warned the increases to some payments, like JobSeeker, are not enough.
- Melissa Fisher is among those receiving JobSeeker and wants the rate to be lifted further.
For Melissa Fisher, life on the JobSeeker payment during Australia's cost of living crisis isn't easy.
Skipping meals is not uncommon for the South Australian, who lives with disability and chronic illness. She said she for the fortnight and that going without meals has caused her to develop - a disease caused by lack of vitamin C, which can result in fatigue and aching joints.
Her social life has also been impacted, she said, and she is unable to find money in her budget to have a coffee with friends.
"I haven't been out socially since Christmas, and that was just going to a family member's house for Christmas," she said.
"The only time I go out is to the hospital or appointments, such as with my job services provider."
Ms Fisher, 40, currently receives a total of $683.40 a fortnight. The majority of that is from the , with an additional $8.80 from the Energy Supplement and $6.60 from the Pharmaceutical Allowance.
On Monday, she will be among the 4.7 million Australians whose income support payments will rise in line with inflation, a process called indexation. But she and other job seekers believe the increase will do little to help as .
Which payments are increasing, and by how much?
Some income support payments are indexed twice a year: on 20 March and 20 September.
The increases reflect inflation over a six-month period based on Australian Bureau of Statistics data. Monday's increase is 3.7 per cent, based on headline inflation rising 1.8 per cent in the September quarter, and 1.9 per cent in the December quarter.
People who receive the age pension, disability support pension, and carer payment will get an increase of $37.50 a fortnight for singles and $56.40 a fortnight for couples.
Social Services Minister Amanda Rishworth says indexation is a "pillar of our social security system" that "helps those doing it toughest". Source: AAP / Morgan Sette
Single JobSeeker and adult ABSTUDY payments will lift by $24.70 to $701.90 a fortnight when the energy supplement is included.
Singles with no dependents who receive rent assistance will see the payment increase by $5.70 a fortnight, while single parents receiving the parenting payment will get an additional $33.90 a fortnight.
The Youth Allowance and AUSTUDY payments are indexed once a year on 1 January.
'I skip breakfast and lunch'
Social Services Minister Amanda Rishworth on Monday last week labelled indexation a "pillar of our social security system" that "helps those doing it toughest", but Australia's peak welfare body says more needs to be done.
Charmaine Crowe is the policy director at the Australian Council of Social Services, who wants payments including JobSeeker, ABSTUDY, AUSTUDY, and Youth Allowance increased to $76 a day — what the age pension's maximum fortnightly rate for singles will be from Monday.
"They should also be indexed in line with wages as well as prices, which over the longer term will ensure those payments maintain pace with community living standards, which are normally set by wage growth rather than CPI," she said, referring to the consumer price index, a standard measure of inflation.
"The other thing we're calling for is for rent assistance to be doubled, and there needs to be supplementary payments that recognise the additional costs faced by people with disability or chronic ill health."
Ms Crowe said indexation increases do little to help because payments like JobSeeker were already "inadequate" before Australia entered a high-inflation period.
"The price of food has gone up by over 9 per cent over the past 12 months (based on December quarter inflation figures), but the JobSeeker payment has gone up over that time by about just over 6 per cent," she said.
"And so what we're hearing from people is that they're having to go without even more just to keep a roof over their heads."
Single JobSeeker and adult ABSTUDY payments will increase by $24.70 to $701.90 a fortnight when the energy supplement is included. Source: AAP
She said she feels fortunate to be in public housing, but she's concerned her rent could rise soon after her payment is increased.
And even though her rent is subsidised, Ms Fisher, who has been on JobSeeker for seven years and is "great at budgeting", now struggles to afford enough food.
"When I first went on JobSeeker, even though I found it very tough, I could still afford to eat... and pay my bills," she said.
"It's become tougher as time has gone on, but the last eight months have been the absolute worst. I used to do my fortnightly grocery shopping for $100; I still spend that but get a lot less."
Ms Fisher said she is "battling malnutrition and scurvy" because she can't afford to eat properly.
"There are days at the end of a fortnight where I completely run out of anything," she said.
"Right now I skip breakfast and lunch and focus on the evening meal, because I figure if you go to bed hungry, you're not sleeping."
Ms Fisher said the indexation increase will do "nothing" and wants the JobSeeker rate to be increased further..
She reflected on her time receiving the now-scrapped Coronavirus Supplement, which was introduced during the height of the pandemic and effectively doubled the JobSeeker payment.
"I was the closest that I've ever been to being work-ready, because I could eat properly; I could take care of my health ... everything was improving," she said.
"Now ... everything has gone downhill".
Ms Rishworth acknowledged increasing costs meant vulnerable Australians were "feeling the pinch".
"We know that there are a lot of people doing it tough and this will go some way to supporting those with the extra cost of living," she said in a statement.
Has inflation peaked?
The Reserve Bank of Australia (RBA) has been hiking interest rates in a bid to curb inflation and bring it back to its 2-3 per cent target band, which the central bank forecast in its February Statement on Monetary Policy would occur by mid-2025.
Following , RBA governor Philip Lowe said that the latest monthly CPI data — which showed the index grew 7.4 per cent in the 12 months to January — .
Treasurer Jim Chalmers agreed, but warned inflation would "be higher than we like for longer than we'd like."
