A lack of access to banking and financial services, otherwise termed financial exclusion, is one of the key aspects of the social exclusion of low income groups in Australian society. Individuals without access to banking services are at an economic disadvantage. Without the ability to save, individuals are denied a range of economic opportunities and...

This paper is part of a broader project on household inequality and living standards being conducted by the Social Policy Research Centre in partnership with the Australian Bureau of Statistics. The main purpose of the paper is to discuss methodological issues in assessing geographical differences in the propensity of households to be relatively poor, and...