Earlier this week, ACT community organisations called on the Federal Government to increase welfare and rent assistance payments, and for the ACT Government to provide more social and affordable housing, and more funding for the community sector.
The ACT and Federal Governments have responded to calls from Canberra’s community sector for more assistance for a growing number of poor and disadvantaged people.
In its annual poverty factsheet, published on Monday, at the start of Anti-Poverty Week, the ACT Council of Social Service (ACTCOSS) revealed that many Canberrans cannot afford the fundamentals of a healthy life, such as housing, food, transport, health services, and energy, due to rising costs of living.
ACT Minister responsible for emergency relief and community recovery, Emma Davidson (Greens), said: “Our community sector is incredible at supporting the needs of many Canberrans, particularly those living below the poverty line. One of the first things people sacrifice when they face poverty is food. The ACT Government continues to fund food relief initiatives to support people in need. Under the 2021-22 ACT Budget, we funded a community database to better support people to live with dignity, have access to food, and, importantly, ensure the sustainability of the community sector to deliver support for people facing hardship.”
Will the Federal Government increase welfare?
The community sector wants the Federal Government to raise the rate of income support to at least $70 a day.
Currently, JobSeeker, Youth Allowance, and other income support payments are below the poverty line, ACTCOSS states. When the Coronavirus supplement of $550 was introduced during the height of the pandemic, the poverty rate plummeted; once it was removed, Canberra’s poverty rate rose to a level above what it was before COVID.
The Department of Social Services stated: “The Australian Government has committed to consider the rate of JobSeeker during the Budget process each year commencing in 2023, and continue to build a welfare and social security system to support vulnerable Australians, ensuring no one is left behind or held back.”
On 20 September, the Government increased social security payments to ensure they keep up with the cost of living. The rate of JobSeeker Payment for singles without children increased by $25.70 a fortnight to $677.20 (including Energy Supplement); Parenting Payment Single increased by $35.20 per fortnight to $927.40 (including Pension Supplement and Energy Supplement); and the rate for partnered JobSeeker Payment and Parenting Payment recipients increased by $23.40 a fortnight to $616.60 (including Energy Supplement). Federal Minister for Social Services, Amanda Rishworth, said this was the largest indexation increase to payments in more than 30 years for allowances and in 12 years for pensions.
ACTCOSS also called on the Commonwealth Government to increase the rate of Commonwealth Rent Assistance by 50 per cent, and thereafter index it to the increases in private rental.
DSS responded that the Government expects to spend around $5 billion on Commonwealth Rent Assistance in 2022-23, to help around 1.4 million households receiving income support with the cost of private rental or community housing.
Where recipients have additional costs, such as those associated with renting in the private market and raising children, supplementary payments such as Rent Assistance and Family Tax Benefit are available.
“Our broader government supports comprise social security, family payments, health care concessions, rent assistance and child care subsidy payments, services, concessions, and employment services,” DSS stated.
Ms Davidson agrees welfare should be increased.
“We need to raise the rate of our national welfare system so people can access everything they need to live well. We should all aspire to end poverty in Australia – not just in Canberra – and we can only do this when all levels of government step up in partnership with their communities.”
Will the ACT Government lower rental costs?
Private rental costs are the main driver of poverty, ACTCOSS stated; Canberra is the least affordable Australian city to rent in for low-to-moderate income households, people receiving income support, young people, and essential workers.
Again, the ACT has the highest rate of rental stress in Australia among lower income private rental households, at 73 per cent (up from one-third in 2019).
One way the ACT Government sought to address rental affordability, a spokesperson said, was by enforcing a limitation on rent increases in periodic tenancies by setting a prescribed amount for rent increases. (Under the Residential Tenancies Act 1997, this limit is set at 110 per cent of CPI every year). The ACT is the only jurisdiction in Australia to limit rent increases in this way, the spokesperson said.
Rental properties across the ACT will soon be required to meet a new minimum energy efficiency standard. This will require a minimum level of ceiling insulation, which will help make rental homes comfortable, safe, and energy efficient, the spokesperson said. “The new standard will make a significant contribution to reducing energy bills throughout the year and relieve some of the financial pressures on vulnerable households.”
The Public Exposure Draft of the Residential Tenancies Amendment Bill 2022 includes changes to the RTA to support the future introduction of these standards.
The ACT Government has also committed to remove ‘without cause’ evictions from tenancy agreements.
Under the current RTA, a landlord can terminate a tenancy agreement for no reason, by giving the tenant 26 weeks’ notice. This “without cause” termination undermines tenants’ security of tenure as it means a tenant can be evicted from their home arbitrarily without having breached their tenancy agreement, such as by failing to pay rent or damaging the property, or where the landlord has another “cause” for the termination such as wanting to sell, renovate, or move into the property.
Removing without cause evictions from the RTA will improve tenants’ rights and security of tenure, as well as give tenants greater confidence in exercising their rights under the RTA, including rights to review rent increases in the ACAT, as they will no longer have to fear arbitrary eviction, the spokesperson said.
- Proposed ACT rental reforms look to end no cause evictions (28 April)
- Draft ACT rental laws: REIACT ‘concerned’, lobbies say ‘good step’ (27 July)
More information about the reforms can be found online.
Will the ACT Government provide more housing?
The ACT has an estimated shortfall of 3,100 housing properties, and 8,500 more social housing dwellings are needed by 2036, ACTCOSS’s factsheet states.
There is less public housing now than in 2012, “yet the experiences of poverty and the rates of unaffordability have gone up,” ACTCOSS stated. The standard waiting time for public housing is now more than four years, while those on the priority list wait almost a year to get a home.
The ACT Housing Strategy (2018) sets out the ACT Government’s actions to grow social and affordable housing, and address housing supply for individuals and families at all income levels, a spokesperson said. The strategy focuses on improving access to safe, secure, and affordable housing for all Canberrans, and on providing access to housing for low-to-moderate income households and those experiencing, and at risk of, homelessness.
The ACT has the highest proportion of households residing in public housing of any state or territory (6.8 per cent of households compared to 3.1 per cent nationally). Waiting list numbers as a percentage of housing stock is 25 per cent compared to the national average of 52 per cent (according to the most recent Report on Government Services from June 2021).
The ACT Government is investing more than $1 billion in growing and renewing public housing, the spokesperson said. The program will provide at least 400 more public housing properties to support more people and households in need of housing assistance.
The 2022–23 Budget includes a comprehensive package to tackle housing affordability and supply, including developing 30,000 new dwellings over the next five years, to grow the housing supply from 180,000 dwellings to 210,000 dwellings by 2027. ACTCOSS welcomed the announcement, although both the Canberra Liberals and Master Builders ACT have criticised it.
“From targeted stamp duty cuts, through to the construction of hundreds of new public housing dwellings, we are taking the steps necessary to ensure more Canberrans have access to safe and secure homes,” the government spokesperson said.
The ACT Budget invests another $87 million to expand the Growing and Renewing Public Housing program by a further 140 dwellings, as well as an additional investment in public housing maintenance and repairs.
“Our vision for Canberra is one where everyone has access to the things that enable them to live a good life, including a home,” ACT Minister for homelessness and housing services, Rebecca Vassarotti, said. “However, homelessness is a complex issue, and it is not something we cannot solve overnight.
“We are making a difference, though, and have delivered a significant increase in funding for the homelessness sector to support people to get the right support and into long-term, safe, and sustainable accommodation.
“We are also in a co-design process with the sector to deliver new initiatives that target service gaps and address the root issues that drive people into homelessness.
“We won’t deliver a home for all on our own, though. We need urgent action from the Commonwealth Government to pull their policy levers, particularly by raising the rate of welfare.
“Together, we can end poverty and ensure everyone has a place to call home.”
Will the ACT lower health costs?
Healthcare is particularly unaffordable, ACTCOSS stated. The ACT has one of the lowest rates of bulk billing doctors in the country (only four GP clinics bulk-bill all their patients, according to a Cleanbill report published earlier this month), and the ACT has the highest rate of people delaying healthcare or seeking treatment because of the cost.
The ACT Government recently invested $4.3 million to improve access to primary care for vulnerable Canberrans with complex and chronic health conditions, the spokesperson said. This funding will improve access to free healthcare for housebound ACT residents, vulnerable young people, refugees, and gender diverse Canberrans.
- Primary care for vulnerable Canberrans (23 August)
Over the next four years, the government has allocated more than $3.4 million to continue programs delivered by Directions, Anglicare’s Junction Youth Health Service, and Companion House. These programs have increased access to care for those who need it most, the spokesperson said.
To support these programs, the government is also investing more than $900,000 in grants to four local primary care organisations: Meridian, Next Practice, Anglicare Junction, and Companion House.
The government will invest in the Nurse-led Walk-in Centre network to ensure Canberrans have access to free healthcare, closer to their homes. This includes hiring five more nurse practitioners, providing Canberrans with access to more health services, including prescriptions for certain medicines.
The government is undertaking a feasibility study for four more health centres across Canberra, in addition to Canberra Health Services at Molonglo, which opened in April. This study is investigating potential sites and services for each centre. The new centres are proposed to focus on prevention, early intervention, and coordinated care for people with chronic illness.
“The ACT Government will continue to work with the Federal Government, service partners, and community organisations to ensure Canberrans have access to high-quality, free healthcare when and where they need it,” the spokesperson said.
Will the ACT Government help poor children?
This year’s Anti-Poverty Week has a focus on children, ACTCOSS stated: too many from poor families miss out on activities because their parents cannot afford tuition fees, transport, or uniforms.
In August, the ACT Government launched its Future of Education Equity Fund, which provides payments to families experiencing disadvantage to help cover the costs of education expenses such as school uniforms and excursions, sport equipment and activities, tuition and music lessons, the spokesperson stated.
- Government fund will help vulnerable students (16 August)
The government is also developing a trial to provide breakfast and lunch for students, three days a week at five public schools.
Liberals called for poverty inquiry
Last week, the Canberra Liberals proposed that the ACT Government commission an independent inquiry into the prevalence of poverty in the ACT, examining the rates and drivers of poverty, the relationship between economic conditions and poverty, and the impact of poverty on individuals. In early 2021, the Liberals called for a poverty taskforce, which the government rejected.
“Close to two years later, the problems of poverty and homelessness have not improved; arguably, they are worse,” party leader Elizabeth Lee said. “The gap between the haves and the have-nots is widening.”
Chief Minister Andrew Barr negated Ms Lee’s motion entirely. His amendments state that the ACT Government already invested in measures to support low-income Canberra households reduce their cost of living: free high-quality public healthcare and education; delivering affordable rental dwellings and social and affordable housing developments; expanding the capacity of the specialist homeless sector; and financial concessions and funds. Moreover, the Commonwealth Government (Labor) was implementing cost-of-living policies and indexation measures to support individuals and families.
Mr Barr stated that poverty was largely driven by low-income levels, lack of employment opportunities, and Commonwealth income support measures – it had been a Liberal Federal policy to suppress wages – but Canberrans enjoyed high standards of living, and unemployment was low. Mr Barr also pointed out that the Liberals’ motion was identical to the terms of reference of the new Senate inquiry into poverty. A parallel inquiry, Mr Barr said, would cost the taxpayer money, and provide nothing different.
Emma Davidson presented 10 documents (2016 to 2022) showing data and reports on poverty and disadvantage in the ACT.
“We know, thanks to the community sector’s extensive body of research work, why poverty exists in the ACT,” she said. “We know who is most affected, and where those households are most concentrated.”
ACTCOSS, however, supported the Liberals’ motion.
“We are disappointed the ACT Government chose not to take the opportunity to do more about poverty in Canberra,” Dr Gemma Killen, ACTCOSS acting CEO, said.
“An independent inquiry could have been a positive step towards better understanding the drivers of poverty, and the disproportionate disadvantages experienced by marginalised communities.
“While ACT community organisations have consistently provided clear expert recommendations for addressing poverty, we have yet to see a significant reduction in the level of disadvantage in our community. We know that without increases to income support payments, investment in social and public housing, and adequate, targeted concessions, we will continue to see people trapped in poverty.”
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