When Jobkeeper payments were introduced in 2020, the number of people seeking support from St Vincent De Paul halved. With those payments finished and the cost of living rising, people are turning to the charity simply to put food on the table. 

St Vincent De Paul’s North West Regional Director Phil Donnan said the demographic of people seeking out help would surprise people. 

“That’s been a surprise for even ourselves,” Mr Donnan said of the rise in young families, single seniors and people on fixed pensions that have come for assistance. 

In the most common cases, the request is for food, with even the most basic of needs unable to be met in the current climate. 

According to a report from fellow charity the Salvation Army, after paying for their housing costs, 93 per cent of people seeking assistance live below the poverty line. 

“A lot of their money has been soaked up in accommodation…they’re looking after all the other basics, so they get squeezed for food,” Mr Donnan said.

Both St Vincent De Paul and the Salvation Army are advocates for increased focus on the country’s most vulnerable people. 

“We are strongly advocating for an increase in jobseeker payments…an increase of $24 a day would get most people out of trouble that knock on our door,” Mr Donnan said.

“Even a modest increase of $10 to $15 would take a million people out of poverty across the nation,” he said. 

National Public Relations Secretary for The Salvation Army Major Bruce Harmer said that vulnerable people have been forced to forfeit meals and medication. 

“Our research has shown that the situation is particularly dire for those who are living on government support payments. These people are struggling to afford their basic needs, with 88% finding it difficult to meet their necessary living expenses and 97% living below the poverty line,” Major Harmer says. 

81% of households of those people surveyed with children are in housing stress, paying 30% or more of their household income on housing. 

After paying for housing, single parents surveyed had to live on $22 per day, with couples with children being forced to live on just $19 a day. 

“We’re very much advocating that regardless of who’s in government, that basic low income, fixed income and pension side of things…it really makes a difference with a multitude of people,” Mr Donnan said.