Australians say they are in a worse financial position than a year ago, as some spend more than 50 per cent of their income keeping the roof over their head.
Higher interest rates and fuel prices are among the many reasons 73 per cent of Australians feel their money is not going as far as it was a year ago according to a poll.
It comes after the RBA recently hiking up the rate by 0.25 per cent leaving the cash rate at 4.1 per cent with major banks including ANZ, CommBank and NAB predicting another 25 basis point rise in May.
A national poll with nearly 2,000 respondents reported that more than 40 per cent of Australians have ranked cost of living support as top priority ahead of the federal budget in May.
The poll was conducted by AMPLIFY, an Australian community organisation that aims to influence public policy including, housing, education and economic resilience.
“They are feeling constant pressure to decide where to cut back and how to make their money
add up,” AMPLIFY CEO Georgina Harrisson said.
Since mid-2022, Australians have dealt with higher rent and increased cost of new houses, with 70 per cent Aussies facing housing stress.
Some are spending more than 30 per cent of their household income on housing, with those worse off spending 50 per cent.
“Our research shows no matter their age, housing situation, or employment status, Australians are struggling and their financial situation is worsening,” Ms Harrisson said.
The cost of living crisis has remained an acute issue for many households with more than one million Australians working two or more jobs in the December quarter of 2024.
“Housing remains one of the biggest drivers of inflation and financial stress and Australians are clearly telling us they want it treated as a priority in this year’s budget,” Ms Harrisson said.
The federal budget is the government’s annual financial plan for collecting and spending money.
It reflects the governments decisions on how to tax and spend as well as borrow, lend, consume and invest.
