Nearly 2.2 Million Australians Live Below Wellbeing Poverty Line

Nearly 2.2 million Australians aged 15 and older live below the wellbeing poverty line. The Guardian reported this figure from its analysis of the Australian Bureau of Statistics general social survey. In 2025, 9.7 percent of Australians rated their general satisfaction with life at four or below out of 10.

That share doubled from 4.8 percent in 2014. The initial rise in dissatisfaction occurred during 2020 Covid lockdowns and has continued amid higher costs for essentials. Westpac’s consumer confidence index has remained near 50-year lows since the pandemic.

National living standards measured by inflation-adjusted household disposable income per household sit at the same level recorded in mid-2020. Shane Oliver, AMP’s chief economist, said lower-income households faced particular pressure from rises in electricity, insurance and health care prices. “Consumer confidence seems to be chronically stuck around recessionary levels,” Oliver said.

Only 15 percent of people below the wellbeing poverty line feel they have a say on important community matters, compared with the national average of 32 percent. Among those reporting the highest life satisfaction scores, the share rises to 46 percent.

Just over 60 percent of those with the lowest satisfaction scores agree that a society composed of different cultures is a good thing, below the national average of 80 percent.

Oliver linked the drop in satisfaction to thwarted expectations around home ownership. “I suspect housing is the single biggest problem,” he said. ” Anthea Hancocks, chief executive of the Scanlon Foundation Research Institute, said economic circumstances strongly affect social cohesion through their impact on self-worth.