This report is the second in the ACOSS and UNSW Build Back Fairer Series. The report analyses the changes to key income support payments from 2000 to 2021. It provides a comparison of the changes to income support highlighting who has been left behind. Its purpose is to inform debate about how our income support system can be improved to deliver a fairer post-pandemic Australia.

It is hoped that this report will assist decision-makers to design policy responses to build back fairer in a manner that includes people hit hardest by the effects of the COVID pandemic, including those on the lowest incomes.