All children should be able to grow and thrive in a safe and supportive environment. Yet, one in six children across Australia live in poverty, with long-term detrimental impacts on their education, health, wellbeing and future. But child poverty isn’t inevitable, it is a policy choice. This submission calls for an immediate increase to social security payments to lift children and their families out of poverty, investment in social and affordable housing to address the crisis in affordable housing that is driving many people into poverty, and the removal of the activity test for childcare subsidy.
April 2023