Surging cost of living in Australia

24 May 2022 - Low-income individuals, women as well as the youth are worried about the surging cost of living in Australia, according to reports. Prices have been rising and almost half of Australians are scared when it comes to managing their expenses during these inflationary times. Not to mention the drop on the stock exchanges at investment portfolios, which lead higher income individuals to also be concerned about their wealth. In a country that is used to rising living standards over its past three decades of economic growth, it has been difficult for Australians to deal with this interruption. 

Food, housing, education and transport prices have been increasing and have resulted in a 5.1 per cent inflation rate in Australia during the first quarter of 2022. 

High housing prices

Young adults are suffering from high housing prices (1 million Australian dollars being the average price for a house in Sydney and Melbourne) which makes it nearly impossible to move out from their parents’ homes. Petrol prices have also been on the rise and have hit a record in some regions, reaching 2.4 Australian dollars per liter. 

In addition, interest rates are rising in order to match inflation resulting in even bigger mortgage repayments for many Australians. “Interest rate hikes will add to these pressures and disproportionately impact the most vulnerable people in the community, who are already struggling to get by, often with limited family or social support networks,” said Claire Victory, the national president of the St Vincent de Paul Society.

With all these increasing costs, wages have been constant over the past few years and have not been of a help to consumers in Australia. Even though wages have witnessed a growth of 2.4 per cent in the first three months of 2022, this number only represents half of the inflation rate.  

Prime Minister Scott Morrison has been working on issues related to the cost of living and has been proposing a scheme for the housing sector. Claire Victory, claims that “urgent action” should take place in order to avoid having Australians fall into poverty. Take our survey on cost of living in Australia and contribute to wage information