Shocking new research shows exactly how difficult it is for a young person to pay rent in any of Australia’s capital cities – let alone buy a home.
The research carried out by the Everybody’s Home campaign — a coalition of housing, homelessness and welfare organisations — will send a chill down the spines of young people hoping to enter the housing market in jobs like retail and hospitality.
Researchers took a look at the average rent of a single bedroom in a two-bedroom apartment in Australia’s capital cities. They cross referenced that with the weekly wage of a level 1, 18-year-old hospitality or retail worker, as well as somebody on Youth Allowance.
The findings
The average 18-year-old retail worker in every capital city spent way above 30% of their income on paying rent for that one room, a figure which according to experts indicates rental stress.
In Canberra, the same retail worker would have a whopping 48% of their rent spent only on the cost of paying rent for a single bedroom.
It was worse for hospitality workers in the same bracket who nationally would have to fork out 40% of their gross income to afford that single room.
If they wanted that room in Canberra it would cost them 53% of their income. In Sydney it would cost them 48%.
But what about those on Youth Allowance? The research showed the average person on Youth Allowance would have to pay 92% of their income on renting a single room in Canberra and 83% in Sydney.
The figure dropped to 68% in Melbourne, but would still push a person on Youth Allowance to the brink of homelessness.
Even more concerning are figures showing the rate of homelessness among young people. In 2020-21, there were 41,652 Australians aged between 15-24 seeking homelessness services who were not supported by parents or carers, the majority of which were looking for medium or longer-term accommodation.
Only 5,092 of these people were able to be provided with accommodation, with more than 7,400 referred to other services and, devastatingly, 24,053 unable to be helped at all due to a lack of resources and housing.
“Young Australians are caught in a vice of surging rents and declining real wages. They’re going out backwards and many are facing the harsh reality of homelessness,” said Kate Colvin, national spokesperson for Everybody’s Home.
“Everyone deserves the security of a stable home. This should be a right, not a privilege.
“This crisis will only get worse if we continue to deny its existence. Telling people earning $40,000-$50,000 a year to simply buy a property is callous and unrealistic. Young Australians deserve better.”
This research follows controversial remarks made by Prime Minister Scott Morrison, who claims the best way the government could support struggling renters was to help them purchase a home.
Anthony Albanese used question time in parliament to ask Mr Morrison why he had said struggling renters should “go and buy a house” and called his remarks “out of touch”.
Mr Morrison rattled off a list of the Coalition’s home ownership policies which he said had got 300,000 people into their own houses, and took a dig at Mr Albanese.
“Not everyone can buy their own homes. The leader of the opposition has bought plenty of homes — plenty more than I have and good luck to him. We celebrate success on this side,” he said.
The Government have promised to double the first-home buyer scheme to 50,000 places if re-elected.
The program lowers the minimum deposit required down from 20% to 5%, with the government securing the difference.
The budget includes three key measures to help with the rapidly rising cost of living including: halved fuel excise for six months, an additional $420 tax rebate for low and middle income earners this financial year and a $250 payment for pensioners and other welfare recipients.
Image: Getty
