Legal, community and financial groups have called on the ACT government to expand eligibility requirements for assistance programs to help with cost-of-living pressures.
A parliamentary inquiry into cost-of-living pressures in the ACT has heard from a range of stakeholders who have expressed deep concerns about the rising financial pressures facing Canberrans.
In a submission to the inquiry, The Salvation Army said poverty was persistent - and ignored - in the territory.
"Despite high standards of living for many Canberrans, the prevalence of poverty in the ACT is alarmingly frequent, and disconcertingly hidden - or worse - ignored," the submission said.
Legal Aid ACT called for eligibility requirements for those able to access the service to be increased, saying the current eligibility meant many were unable to access help.
The submission said the eligibility for a legal aid grant was a weekly income of $411 or less for a single person with no dependants. The organisation said an increase to $622 a week would allow for more people to receive advice. The commission did say its funding would need to increase by about $250,000 per year.
"We are concerned about a gap in providing legal assistance to vulnerable community members who are unable to qualify for Legal Aid but cannot afford private legal representation. This cohort is a justice gap referred to as the 'missing middle'," the submission said.
"A prospective client should not have to be at (or under) the poverty line to get legal assistance from Legal Aid. A client who has an income which is slightly above the poverty line does not have the means to engage a private legal practitioner for legal assistance, especially given the complex and serious legal issues which vulnerable individuals in our community often face."
Care, a financial counselling service, said the eligibility criteria for people accessing ACT government assistance programs was too small and said this needed to be expanded.
The organisation's submission said current programs were restricted to people on a pension or those with a healthcare card. It said this needed to be expanded to include people on middle incomes.
"It is clear that financial stress is now being experienced by a broader section of the community," the submission said.
The ACT Council of Social Service also expressed a similar view but also said people who should receive concessions did not. The council pointed to the territory government's energy concessions for low-income households.
"There is a gap in who is eligible for energy concessions and who actually receives those concessions of about 31 per cent. This means that approximately three out of 10 eligible Canberrans are not receiving concessions where they should," the submission said.
ACTCOSS also urged the government to consider making public transport free.
"Make public transport free for all, always, would reduce cost-of-living pressures for everyone, but especially vulnerable Canberrans," the submission said.
Groups have also urged the territory government to lobby the Commonwealth to regulate buy-now-pay-later schemes, which they said had increased vulnerability to debt.
Suicide Prevention Australia said such schemes had compounded financial stress.
"Unfortunately, the health impact of indebtedness can be dire, and people who are unable to pay their debt experience suicidal ideation and depression more often than the general population," the submission said.
The Salvation Army also called on the government to lobby for greater regulation around buy-now-pay-later schemes.
The Legislative Assembly's select committee into cost-of-living pressures is set to hold public hearings next week.
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