Young Australians are at risk of becoming the first generation in modern Australia to be worse off than the one before them, according to a new report from Anglicare Australia.
Falling Behind: Young People and Australia’s Growing Divide finds that younger Australians are earning less, owning less, carrying more debt, and being locked out of secure housing, with the impacts showing up in mental health and community services.
Key findings include:
- Today’s young people are the first generation to earn less than the generation before them at the same age, and they’re still behind at 30
- Young people are being forced to cut spending on both essentials and luxuries, while older people are increasing spending across the board
- Home ownership for 25-34 year-olds is below 40%, back to 1940s levels
- Not one of 48,776 rental listings was affordable for someone on Youth Allowance
- Young people are more than twice as likely as over-65s to experience serious psychological distress. This is borne out by data from Anglicare Australia services.
Anglicare Australia Executive Director Kasy Chambers said the findings show that Australia’s longstanding promise of progress between generations is breaking down.
“For generations, Australians could expect that if they worked hard, they would become more secure over time. That promise is no longer holding for young people.
“Young Australians are doing everything we ask of them. They are studying, working and contributing. But they are earning less than the generations before them, being locked out of housing, and struggling to build the security that past generations took for granted. The economic foundations underneath them have shifted.”
“The Government has taken an important step by reforming property tax breaks that have favoured accumulated wealth over work. Now we need to build on that progress.
“One of the clearest places to start is Youth Allowance. We have a social security system that literally says a young person needs less money to live on simply because of their age. Our findings show they can’t afford rent on Youth Allowance anywhere in the country.
“Rent isn’t cheaper when you’re 23. Groceries aren’t cheaper. Electricity isn’t cheaper. Yet young people are expected to survive on the lowest payment in the system.
“Poverty should not be a rite of passage. Every generation deserves the chance to build a secure future.”