More Western Australians are falling into financial hardship and seeing deterioration in their standards of living, including households with two working parents, according to new data in the Western Australian Council of Social Service’s (WACOSS) 2024 Cost of Living Report.
Fast Facts
- Weekly expenditure of the model Single Parent Family surpasses their income by $94.12.
- The position of the Two Parent Family, where both parents are in employment, has dramatically deteriorated. For the first time, the model Two Parent Family’s income is insufficient to cover their basic living costs, with weekly expenses exceeding their income by $60.77.
- The Unemployed Single is still teetering on the edge, with their basic living costs totalling 15 cents more than their weekly income. JobSeeker was increased in September 2023, but fell well short of what was needed for people to cover the basic necessities.
- The model Age Pensioners (Homeowners) have $46.18 left over each week, while the model Age Pensioners (Renters) are $55.25 short each week.
For the first time since this annual Cost of Living Report series commenced nearly 20 years ago, the dual waged household – being a two-parent family with one full time income and one part time income at a minimum wage rate – is struggling to afford a reasonable standard of living and now unable to make ends meet due to rapidly increasing living costs, WACOSS has found.
Service providers have reported that now, households on middle incomes have exhausted any savings they had and are running out of options, with many relying on emergency relief services as a last resort.
It has been yet another year where low-income earners have consistently faced financial hardship. In 2024, significant increases in housing and transport costs have placed more and more WA households under extreme financial pressure.
While inflation is cooling, prices remain at record highs and, unfortunately, have not – and will not – drop to pre-crisis levels.
With that, many Western Australians are seeing a decline in their real living standards, and without relative income increases, more in our community can no longer afford essential items such as food and utilities.
In regional WA, significant increases in housing costs and limited access to childcare mean families are making challenging decisions about their futures.
This has wide-sweeping impacts on social and economic capital, with emigration leaving regional areas without the capacity to deliver essential supports.
Limited access to services makes regional areas less appealing to new residents – which creates a challenging cycle of decline.
WACOSS Chief Executive Officer Louise Giolitto said it was clearly another tough year across the board for Western Australians, but especially for those on lower incomes in our community who are doing it toughest.
“WA renters continue to face unsustainable rent increases and, under current tenancy laws, feel unable to advocate for their basic needs, people are skipping meals, rationing medication, missing medical appointments and forgoing heating and cooling of their homes to stretch their weekly budget.
“Community support services, which are critical to well-functioning and fair societies, have been underfunded for years and are being forced to cut outreach programs and reduce staff hours.
“All this while large corporations have increased their profits significantly compared to pre-pandemic levels. In particularly, Australian supermarkets and banks have posted staggering profits and margins.
“It is clear that our systems are not working for far too many Western Australians, and our community does not have equitable access to life’s essentials. If we are going to build a fairer WA, it is time for urgent and targeted action.
“In the short term, improving outcomes for households on low income requires the State Government to invest in targeted cost of living relief that directly relieves pressure on the weekly budget.
“This includes supports that significantly lower the cost of essential items – such as housing, transport, food and utilities – and ensuring that support initiatives are accessible, appropriate and meaningful.
“It is our overwhelming belief, in the longer term, the WA Government should prioritise investment in the needs of our people over economic growth or budget surpluses.
“The economy should serve the people, not the other way around. Significant portions of our community are being left behind while our economy is booming, which begs the question – who is it really booming for?”
This year’s Cost of Living Report outlines the impact of increasing costs on individuals and families and offers a call to action; asking communities and government to support change that ensures everyone in WA has access to the life basics and no-one is left behind; a statement we have made in our asks of the next State Government following the March state election.
By responding to this call, we can create a WA where all families, communities and individuals can thrive.
