One in six children is experiencing poverty in Australia, with a new global report finding those living in single-parent households are almost five times more at risk of being poor than those in two-parent homes. Source: The Australian.
In a new UNICEF report, Australia ranked 18th out of 39 OECD nations for relative income poverty and 29th in efforts to improve child poverty between 2012 and 2021.
The figures, put together by UNICEF’s International Research Centre for Children, found more than 17 per cent of children lived in relative income poverty, an increase of 1.7 per cent since 2012.
And almost half of children in single-parent households were living in poverty, the report found, with 41 per cent identified as at risk of not receiving basics such as food, clothes and medicine.
UNICEF Australia head of policy and advocacy Katie Maskiell said the report made it clear more needed to be done for the social protection of children in Australia.
“In a country as wealthy as Australia, we can certainly do better than one in six children experiencing poverty,” she said.
“We know that low-income households spend a large share of their incomes on food and energy, and the report shows that food and energy prices soared post-pandemic, so it’s low-income households that are being hit hard in the current cost-of-living crisis.”
The report comes as MPs within the Labor Party raise concerns with the Albanese Government’s response to the cost-of-living crisis, raising questions of the Treasurer ahead Mid-Year Economic and Fiscal Outlook next week.
Social Services Minister Amanda Rishworth said the Government is focused on “providing direct and tangible” support to families.
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UNICEF finds child poverty increasing in Australia (By Sarah Ison, The Australian)
