Most people living in Australia are enjoying better living standards than ever before. However,
we are also experiencing a rise in the number of people living in poverty. Poverty is particularly
affecting people relying on income support payments, such as Newstart, or those in low
paid work: people who are long term unemployed, single parents and their children, people
with disability, Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples, and people from culturally and
linguistically diverse backgrounds. For the estimated 12.8%1
of the Australian public who are living in poverty, energy affordability is a growing, and sometimes crushing problem.