Australia’s cost of living ‘getting crazier’ as nearly half of lower-income families worry about affording school shoes

‘The cost of living has gone up dramatically,’ says Laura. A recent report has found four in 10 lower-income parents and carers thought their children would miss out on uniform or shoes. Photograph: Jamila Filippone/The Guardian

Budgeting for Laura, a single mother of four, often means deciding between buying enough food or paying her electricity bill on time.

“Some weeks we’re good, some weeks we’re down and I have to go into the community and ask for vouchers,” she says. The down weeks have been happening more since the pandemic.