Anglicare Australia is urging the federal government to urgently increase JobSeeker and other income support payments after new research found many Australians receiving Centrelink benefits cannot afford basic living expenses.
The organisation’s 2026 Cost of Living Index found a single person receiving JobSeeker falls behind by $251 a week after covering essential costs such as rent, food and transport.
The report also found a single parent receiving a parenting payment is short by $174 a week, while a couple with two children relying on JobSeeker falls behind by $428 a week.
Anglicare Australia executive director Kasy Chambers said the findings show the cost of living crisis is placing the greatest pressure on Australians with the lowest incomes.
“These figures show that Australia’s cost of living crisis is hitting people on the lowest incomes the hardest,” Chambers said.
She said people are not actually spending hundreds of dollars more than they receive each week but are instead making difficult sacrifices to survive.
“People aren’t literally spending hundreds of dollars more than they receive every week. They’re surviving by skipping meals, going without healthcare, living in unsuitable housing, relying on emergency relief, turning to unaffordable lines of credit and building up debts they can’t afford to repay.”
Anglicare is calling on the federal government to lift support payments to help recipients meet essential living costs.