The paper groups financial wellbeing responses into two broad categories: 'comfortable' and 'struggling', focusing on the role of housing. It finds that younger Australians have been hit particularly hard, with multiple sources of financial difficulty. 

The paper proposes that without targeted policy intervention, Australia risks entrenching a system where financial security becomes increasingly dependent on home ownership status and inherited generational wealth. It finds that headline figures about the economy don't always match the individual experience of financial security. 

Key findings

• Australian households felt more financially secure in 2021 at the time of the COVID-19 pandemic.
• 46% of renters reported financial struggles in 2023, nearly triple the rate of outright homeowners at around 17%.
• The impact of housing and rental market pressures is particularly acute for younger Australians, who face the same cost burdens as older cohorts but possess significantly fewer financial resources to manage these expenses.
• The weaker financial wellbeing of renters, predominantly younger Australians, is in part due to the cumulative impact of rising rents and escalating living costs, with limited opportunities for wealth accumulation.