The Productivity Commission has commenced an inquiry into economic inclusion and social mobility in New Zealand, with a focus on helping those experiencing persistent disadvantage. These preliminary findings and recommendations have been released so the final report can benefit from review and critique by a...

The findings of this report highlight the urgent need to increase base rates of income support to at least $70 a day to ensure that people on the lowest incomes are not left behind. ACOSS urges the federal government to lift incomes in the October...

This study investigates how filtering contributes to market-provided, low-income housing in Australia. It critiques the conceptualisation of filtering as a source of housing for low-income households, tests for the presence of filtering dynamics in housing markets (using Melbourne and Sydney as case studies) and considers...

Many people in Australia struggle to afford the energy they need for their wellbeing. This report investigates the scale of the problem of energy stress and identifies policy implications.

NCOSS' annual 'Cost of living in NSW' research investigates cost-of-living pressures for people living below the poverty line and low-income households in New South Wales. The report explores experiences across a range of issues such as housing, employment, income and financial hardship.

The Career Readiness for Young Parents (CRFYP) program is a Commonwealth-funded project, supported by the federal Department of Social Services. This report outlines the findings of an evaluation of the program which supported young parents from selected low socio-economic neighbourhoods in Perth.

As a key pathway to addressing poverty, living wages are rich in business benefits. This report argues that the payment of living wages remains one of the most powerful routes to help people out of poverty, realise human rights, and achieve the Sustainable Development Goals...

This study aimed to examine the extent to which housing quality, other housing attributes and neighbourhood characteristics contribute towards COVID-19 related loneliness in different household types.

This report provides the latest examination of the prevalence of poverty within Australia, how this has changed over time, and which groups in society face the greatest risks of financial hardship and material deprivation.

For more than 20 years, Jesuit Social Services has collaborated with researchers to examine complex disadvantage in communities around the country, releasing a series of reports now generally known as 'Dropping off the Edge.' This year's report, the fifth in the series, builds an unparalleled...

To better understand the idea of welfare dependency and its influence on policy debate, this paper examines how the idea emerged during United States' debates over welfare reform from the 1960s to the 2000s and outlines the history of the idea.

If 'levelling up' is to be seen as legitimate by those it is trying to help, it must meaningfully involve the public in decisions about how money is spent. This report finds that that the public is divided on what levelling up should look like...

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...

From April to September 2020, Good Shepherd commissioned Roy Morgan to investigate a group of working Australians that they have termed the ‘new vulnerable’. This report provides in-depth analysis of these people, and their experience of navigating support systems to address their needs arising from...

Like all state governments, the South Australian government provides concessions for people living on very low incomes and struggling with affordability of essential services. This review of the concessions system in South Australia highlights how the complex patchwork created poverty premiums and barriers to accessing...

This research identifies three distinct groups within the population that emerged from a survey of responses to questions about structural and individual causes of inequalities, fairness and perceptions of inequalities in the United Kingdom.

The research outlined in this report shows that learning loss during the COVID-19 pandemic has been most pronounced among socio-economically disadvantaged students and schools.

This paper provides the first detailed, publicly available analysis of the socio-economic and attitudinal determinants of COVID-19 vaccination amongst both Australian adults and Australian parents’ views about vaccinating their children in the future.

Inspired by Auckland City Mission’s Family 100 project, the 100 Families WA project sought to gain a deep understanding of the lived experience of entrenched disadvantage in Perth, Western Australia. This report outlines the research findings.

This report provides an extensive analysis of how low-income households both value insurance and what they consider when making their insurance decisions. The findings point to both practical barriers, such as cost, for low-income households, as well as attitudinal differences in the perception of how...