Low-income consumers
NARROWER TERMS
Technical report
Low-income households and insurance patterns
This report provides an analysis of 20,405 No Interest Loans Scheme (NILS) applicants with Good Shepherd Australia New Zealand, concerning their rates of insurance and average expenditure for policies.
Report
Commuting burden and housing affordability for low-income renters
This study investigated the impacts commuting costs have on accessing employment for low income workers who are renting their home.
Working paper
Affordability of communications services for low income households
In 2017, the Bureau of Communications and Arts Research found that the affordability of communications services in Australia had improved overall. In general, consumers were getting better value as prices stayed the same or fell, while product inclusions (such as data) increased. This paper updates...
Report
Renewable energy retrofitting and energy poverty in low-income households: final report
This small, but in-depth study, followed the installation of solar PV in low-income households living in community rental housing in Melbourne's western suburbs. The research makes a valuable contribution to informing the development of effective mechanisms for delivery of affordable energy and alleviating energy poverty.
Journal article
Challenges in transitioning to low carbon living for lower income households in Australia
In the move towards low carbon living, the challenges faced by lower income groups are often overlooked. Recent rises in electricity costs disproportionate to income make this a more critical issue. Based on findings from focus group discussions with 164 lower income households and 18...
Report
Working towards a fairer consumer credit market
This paper considers interest rate caps, what is known about their use and impact in other jurisdictions, and how might they contribute to a fairer consumer credit regime in New Zealand.
Briefing paper
Entrenched disadvantage in Western Australia: health, economic and social impacts
100 Families WA is a collaborative research project aimed at understanding the lived experience of poverty, entrenched disadvantage and social exclusion. The first bulletin focuses on the health, economic and social impacts of hardship experienced by families in Perth, Western Australia.
Journal article
Carbon reduction programs and lower income households in Australian cities
This paper presents preliminary findings of a recent research project on the barriers that lower-income households in four Australian cities – Sydney, Adelaide, Hobart, and Darwin – face in reducing their carbon consumption, and the impact of programs implemented by federal and state governments and...
Report
The generation effect: millenials, employment precarity and the 21st century workplace
The Generation Effect tells the story of a generation whose hopes and dreams are shaped by an economy that no longer provides the job and income security that their parents and grandparents experienced. It is a story of the game of life getting harder, not...
Report
Credit and hardship: report of the Senate inquiry into credit and financial products targeted at Australians at risk of financial hardship
The intractable maths of low income earners' family budgets pushes them towards the marginal credit products such as payday loans, consumer leases and debt management firms. This report argues that government can and should improve the terms under which these products are offered.