People experiencing financial and social disadvantage are struggling to keep their homes cool in summer and becoming seriously unwell from the heat, this research has found.

To track the intersection between housing, energy costs, heat, and people experiencing financial and social disadvantage, ACOSS conducted a public, online heat survey over the summer months, from December 2023 to January 2024. They received 1007 responses from people across the country, including: 66.1% receiving income support; 19.2% in social housing; 36.1% in private rental; 6.4% First Nations respondents. Additionally, 62.7% reported they or someone in their household has a disability or chronic health condition.

Key findings:

• Concerningly, 61 per cent of those receive income support, 78 per cent are living in social housing, 66 per cent in private rentals, and 72 per cent of First Nations respondents struggled to cool their homes.
• Eighty per cent said high temperatures in the home made them unwell and 14 per cent had sought medical attention for heat stress. That figure was 25 per cent for First Nations respondents. Most affected were those with chronic illness and or living with disability.
• Residents also said barriers to sheltering somewhere cooler included the cost of entry, cost of transport, mobility issues, caring duties and limited availability of cooler places.
• Concerningly, 60 per cent of people surveyed were finding it increasingly difficult to pay their energy bills, with 26 per cent in or facing energy debt.