Australians under cost‑of‑living strain are signalling they want more than headline tax cuts, with survey respondents prioritising measures that directly improve affordability.
Anglicare Australia’s Cost of Living Index work found strong support for lifting the tax‑free threshold and funding income tax cuts, followed by building more public and community housing, with increased Centrelink payments and energy‑debt relief also attracting substantial backing, realestate.com.au reported.
Anglicare Australia executive director Kasy Chambers (pictured) said the findings challenged the idea that tax cuts alone are the answer.
“Tax cuts might sound good in theory. But when people are asked what actually matters, they choose the things that will make a real difference to their lives,” Chambers said.
That includes tackling housing, incomes, and essential costs.
The index also shows how tight day‑to‑day budgets have become. Even full‑time minimum‑wage workers are left with only a narrow buffer once rent, transport, and food are covered, leaving some with almost nothing to meet energy bills and other quarterly expenses.
Chambers said more working families are turning to emergency relief.
“We are seeing more people, more often, looking for more money and cash through our emergency relief services, we're consistently now also seeing working families,” she said.
REA Group senior economist Eleanor Creagh said households are being hit simultaneously by elevated inflation, higher borrowing costs, energy price shocks, and chronic housing undersupply.
“Households are being squeezed from multiple directions, and housing, I'd say is an amplifier to that,” Creagh said.
This squeeze is playing out against a softer macro backdrop, with Westpac warning the economy is set for a period of sub‑trend expansion just as further interest rate hikes loom. Westpac’s March Westpac–Melbourne Institute Leading Index, which tracks likely economic growth three to nine months ahead, showed the six‑month annualised growth rate “declined to –0.13% in March from +0.05% in February.”
“The Australian economy has lost momentum over the first few months of the year with more weakness likely to emerge in the months ahead,” said Matthew Hassan, Westpac's head of Australian macro‑forecasting.
Get the hottest and freshest property and mortgage news delivered right into your inbox. Subscribe now to our FREE daily newsletter.
