The changing face of poverty in NSW

How can you tell if someone is experiencing poverty? Is it the person next to you at the supermarket silently adding up the bill in the hope they can pay for their trolley of groceries?

Or is it the family huddled together in the living room under piles of blankets because running the heater is too expensive for them this winter?

Our Affordability Crisis Snapshot, released last month, revealed there’s a changing face of poverty in NSW, pulling in middle-income households who weren’t struggling just a few years ago.

It’s the first of a series we’ll release through 2026, drawn from our Voices of Poverty research with nine partner organisations across the community services sector.

The crisis is spreading and hitting harder

One in three households in poverty have been pushed there only in the past few years. Many are asking community organisations for help for the first time. So what does the new face of poverty look like?

It’s the 53 percent of households experiencing poverty who are in extreme housing stress, spending more than half their income on the rent or mortgage.

It’s the 47 percent of households experiencing poverty who are skipping meals, including the one in seven who skip them more than once per week.

As one woman in regional NSW told us “Nobody can understand unless they’ve lived it too. There’s no help, I survive on one meal a day just so there’s food for my kids.”

It’s the 61 percent of people experiencing poverty who are putting off seeing a doctor or dentist due to cost, up from 47 percent in 2023. Those problems compound and end up costing more over time, for the people and the health system.

These expenses are not discretionary. Housing, food and healthcare are the foundations of a safe and dignified life.

The cost of distance

In metropolitan areas like Sydney, housing stress is on the rise. Middle-income households are being stretched as rents and mortgages gouge more out of the weekly pay packet.

Households in regional areas face a double-whammy: the same housing stress, plus the cost of distance.

Surging fuel and diesel prices are driving up the cost of getting anywhere. Even before the fuel crisis hit, 55 percent of people experiencing poverty couldn’t afford to travel to work, school or health appointments, up from 49 percent in 2023.

The cost is isolating too. Of the people we surveyed, 85 percent feel socially isolated, and 74 percent find it hard to build and maintain friendships or relationships due to experiencing poverty.

One in three regularly turn down social invitations because they simply cannot afford to go.

Bandaid solutions won’t fix this

The cost-of-living crisis won’t be over any time soon, so governments should stop treating it like a temporary issue households can ride out.

People need targeted, sustained relief: income support and concessions that keep pace with the real cost-of-living, so they can keep a roof over their heads, see a doctor or dentist when they need to, pay the bills and put food on the table.

Almost half the people in poverty in NSW have regular paid work. Poverty hasn’t grown in NSW because people have stopped working hard or managing their money. Safety and dignity simply cost more than a growing number of us can afford.