Dramatic poll shows insecure income and work is rampant

Anglicare Australia is calling for more support for people on insecure incomes. The call is made as Anglicare Australia releases a dramatic new poll conducted with Ipsos.

The poll surveyed over 1,000 Australians. It found that in the past year:

• Two in five Australians (39 percent) had experienced an insecure income
• Young people are the hardest hit. Almost two in three people (56 percent) under the age of 29 had experienced an insecure income
• One in two people (45 percent) between the ages of 30 and 49 had experienced an insecure income
• The highest rates of income insecurity were reported in the ACT, NSW, and Queensland. The survey was taken before the most recent lockdowns.

Anglicare Australia Executive Director Kasy Chambers said casuals and people out of work need more support:

“Insecure incomes and work have become rampant across Australia. Two in five Australians have had to cope with an insecure income in the past year. Among young people, that figure is even higher, soaring to almost two in three.

“These people are falling through the cracks. The JobSeeker payment is too low and too restrictive. Many people who work casually can’t even get it. That will only get worse as lockdowns go on.

“In NSW and Victoria, hundreds of thousands of people have been locked out of pandemic support payments because they are out of work, or because they were underemployed to begin with. The payments are designed to leave the lowest paid Australians out.

“With so many people in insecure work, casual workers need more support. The payments must be lifted above the poverty line to cover rent, bills and food – and they should go to everybody who needs them.

“We also need action to make work more secure. Hundreds of thousands of Australians shouldn’t be left to wonder when they will next get paid.

“Anglicare Australia calls on the Prime Minister and National Cabinet to fix this gap in our safety net, and stand up for the people who are being hit the hardest by lockdowns.”

You can find a copy of the embargoed polling brief attached here.

This media release was originally published by Anglicare Australia on July 26, 2021.