Families struggling to keep up with rising costs, new report

Queensland households are struggling to keep up with the rising cost of living, with a new study uncovering the only demographic not ending the week in the red.

Queensland households are struggling to keep up with the rising cost of living, with a new study finding retired couples are the only demographic not ending the week in the red.

The average Brisbane couple with two children who have a full-time wage supplemented by a casual wage are still losing more than $150 each week.

The 2022 living affordability report was compiled by the Queensland Council of Social Services and released on Monday.

Retired couples were the only household type examined in the QCOSS report to have money left over in their weekly budget. Photo: Supplied.

For the weekly budget in Brisbane households, an unemployed single parent with two children had a weekly deficit of $200, a single unemployed person with no dependants lost almost $25 per week, while a single student working part-time had a $7 weekly deficit.

In contrast, a senior couple living in Brisbane with no dependants and in receipt of the aged pension ended each week almost $80 in the black.

The picture was no prettier for Gold Coast residents, with an unemployed single parent with two children amassing almost $190 per week in debt, and a couple with two children earning a full-time wage and a casual wage ending each week more than $155 in the red.

Similarly for those on the Sunshine Coast, an unemployed single parent with two children racked up more than $195 in weekly debt, while a couple with two children earning a full-time wage and a casual wage lost almost $170 each week. QCOSS is calling on governments to raise income support payments to at least $73 per day.

Minister Leeanne Enoch helped pack festive food hampers at a Mt Gravatt community centre on Sunday for those struggling this holiday season. Photo: Steve Pohlner.

Housing and Communities Minister Leeanne Enoch acknowledged people around the nation were feeling the cost-of-living pressures.

“Recently as part of the outcomes report of our Housing Summit that the Premier hosted, we saw $56 million committed to not just housing supply but importantly and predominantly housing support,” she said.

“So money to be able to keep people in the houses they currently have – support regarding private tenancy and money for emergency relief.

“So recently, as a result of that, we’ve doubled the amount of money for some of those food relief services available, such as Food Bank or OzHarvest.”

QCOSS chief executive Aimee McVeigh. Photo: David Clark.

QCOSS chief executive Aimee McVeigh said the new report showed all low-income households analysed were paying more than 30 per cent of their weekly income in rent.

“And most of these households do not have enough income to meet any unplanned expenses or emergencies,” she said. “A two-decade high inflation rate, housing stressing, and spiralling energy prices are squeezing households’ budgets beyond what people can handle.

“People are skipping meals or medication simply to pay their bills.”