Acoss – Raise the Rates

Newstart has not increased in real terms in 24 years.

• The single rate of Newstart is $278 per week, $175 per week below the pension.
• More than half (55%) of the people on Newstart live below the poverty line.
• There is 1 job available for every 8 people looking for paid work or more hours (ABS 2018).
• 70% of people receiving Newstart have been unemployed 12 months or more.
• Single people on Newstart receive only an extra $67 per week if they rent privately.
• There are just 28 private rentals Australia-wide
• that are affordable for a single unemployed person (Anglicare 2017).
• Buying the basics like housing, food, transport,
• etc. costs a single person a minimum of $433 per week (UNSW 2017). But Newstart is just $278 per week.
• Over 3 million people live in poverty in Australia, of whom 731,000 are children (ACOSS 2016).
• Spending on the Age Pension is the largest area of social security expenditure (40%) while Newstart and related payments is just 7%.

Government can Raise the Rate in three steps:

1. Raise the rate of the single unemployment and student allowances, and index them to wage and price movements.

2. Establish an independent statutory Social Security Commission to advise on the financial needs of people requiring social security payments to simply afford basic essentials.

3. Improve employment services so that people locked out of the labour market receive the help they need to get paid work.

A roof over every head, a meal on every table. We must Raise the Rate.

acoss.org.au/RaisetheRate