Today, one in four Australians report difficulties in getting by on their current income as we live through the largest cost-of-living increase since the year 2000. Australians are facing difficult choices between paying their mortgages, food and electricity bills, or finding the means to cover medical, childcare, fuel costs. More people are relying on emergency relief and poverty-related services to survive each day, as financial hardship impacts a broader cross-section of the population.

As one of the largest provider networks of community services in Australia, the UnitingCare network has felt the increasing strain of financial hardship being borne by the community. The capacity of front-line services and staff to respond to those in need is increasingly constrained due to chronic under-resourcing of the care sector and growing pressure being placed on an already stretched care workforce.

Mitigating the effects of the current affordability crisis must begin with immediate investment in the services and supports that Australians are relying on in the face of financial hardship. The community services sector urgently requires a funding injection to ensure service providers are adequately resourced to deliver the supports that individuals and communities are depending on. Further, government-administered income support rates need to be increased, to ensure recipients have the means to cover their daily expenses and overcome poverty.