Australians with no savings, support would survive less than 22 days if they lost their job

Some of Australia’s wealthiest and middle-income suburbs have people who could only survive for around 22 days if they lost their job with cost of living pressures. See the full list.

Exclusive: More than a quarter of a million Australians would struggle to survive the next 22 days if they suddenly lost their job.

New data from online financial advice service Otivo shows more than 342,000 Australian households have no financial safety net, such as savings or the ability to draw down on their mortgage, and would struggle to make it to the middle of next month if they lost their income today.

The data, which was collated in partnership with Digital Finance Analytics, was based on a survey of more than 52,000 households across the country. It takes into account there are 9.6 million households in Australia, of which 1.47 million have potential financial issues but could solve them with more debt.

Tasmanians had the shortest survival window of just 19 days, compared to Northern Territorians who could hold out for 24 days if they did not have a financial safety net or government support.

Some of the most at risk suburbs were Georgetown in South Australia, Parklea in NSW, and Sanford in Tasmania.

Even with government support these households would survive between less than a week and up to three weeks.

See the list below.

Households in Parklea, in Sydney’s outer west, would struggle to survive two weeks on average if they suddenly lost their income. Picture: NCA NewsWire / Gaye Gerard

Otivo founder and chief executive Paul Feeney said low income areas were not the only ones feeling the pressure, with traditionally affluent suburbs of Rose Bay and Double Bay in Sydney’s east and South Yarra in Melbourne’s inner east facing survival windows fewer than 13 weeks on average.

“It’s about the money coming in and what is left over. The lower the gap, the higher the pressure and the higher the risk,” Mr Feeney said.

A person walks across the Church Street Bridge at South Yarra. Picture: NCA NewsWire / Andrew Henshaw

“For about six per cent of Australian households the only way they could handle losing their income would be to take out another mortgage, which will only increase their weekly expenses.

“This is just covering the basics such as the mortgage and keeping the lights on. If you include fun money that number [time frame] comes down dramatically.”

Rose Bay households would survive about 11 weeks on average if they suddenly lost their income. Picture: John Appleyard

Cost-of-living pressures have dominated the federal election campaign with higher than expected inflation figures triggering a possible interest rate rise next week.

Australian Council of Social Service chief executive Dr Cassandra Goldie said people’s levels of anxiety and stress were worsening with many living in a daily fear of not being able to meet their financial needs.

“We should not ignore the disturbing fact that Australia has one of the highest levels of household indebtedness in the world,” she said.

“There is this pressure to retain a certain standard of living and people accumulated a lot of debt.

“They look like they’re doing OK but they know if their income stops very quickly, the house of cards will fall.”

Dr Goldie is urging all parties and candidates to increase income support such as JobSeeker, and improving access to affordable social housing.

“Families are living in their cars all over the country. People are lining up at food banks on a regular basis because they’re trying to keep a roof over their head,” she said.

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Originally published as Australians with no savings, support would survive less than 22 days if they lost their job