Australians on the lowest incomes are struggling to pay the rent in electorates across the country. This snapshot surveyed 51,238 rental listings across Australia. Despite an increase in the number of listings surveyed for this year’s Snapshot compared to 2024, Australians on low incomes or relying on income support payments will be hard pressed to find good news.

The report argues that choices made by governments over the last 40 years have entrenched inequality in Australia’s private rental market. Government divestment from providing housing has led to dwindling social housing supply as Australia’s population has grown. The prioritisation of private subsidies as a solution has done little to relieve the burden on Australians struggling to make ends meet.

The report is accompanied by regional reports and a heatmap of house affordability in Australian electorates. 

Key findings

• 352 rentals (0.7%) were affordable for a person earning a full-time minimum wage
• 165 rentals (0.3%) were affordable for a person on the Age Pension
• 28 rentals (0.1%) were affordable for a person on the Disability Support Pension
• 3 rentals, all rooms in sharehouses, were affordable for a person on JobSeeker
• No rentals were affordable for a person on Youth Allowance.