A national coalition of welfare organisations has called on the federal government to increase rent assistance payments by at least 50 per cent as well as expand the eligibility criteria, as more Australians seek financial assistance to pay for housing.
Everybody's Home wants the federal government to increase Commonwealth Rent Assistance as well as make a long-term commitment to further invest in social housing.
Its campaign partners include Mission Australia, The Salvation Army, Homelessness Australia along with a bevy of state and not-for-profit organisations.
Campaign spokesperson Maiy Azize says the Productivity Commission's latest data shows the rental assistance payment isn't enough to lift renters out of housing stress.
"It has been decades since there was a real boost to rent assistance," Ms Azize said.
"At the moment, the maximum fortnightly payment a single person can receive is $151.60.
"That number just hasn't kept up with the rents, which have surged while the payment lags behind."
She said the people who needed the payment most, including Job Seeker or Youth Allowance recipients, were often being left out.
Under pressure
Almost one in two recipients of Commonwealth Rent Assistance – about 44 per cent – are in rental stress, data from the Productivity Commission's latest report on government services shows.
Nearly 54 per cent of households receiving the payment in the ACT are in rental stress, along with almost 47 per cent of recipients in New South Wales. Figures from Victoria are also above the national average.
People are in rental stress when they spend more than 30 per cent of their income on rent.
The Productivity Commission report also shows that nearly 72 per cent of rent assistance recipients would have experienced rental stress without the payment.
There were 1.3 million households receiving payments in December 2022.
Current payments not enough
Mary Stevens is grateful to have Commonwealth Rent Assistance, but the Bendigo grandmother says the $175 her family receives a fortnight isn't enough to alleviate their financial stress.
The family has been renting a four-bedroom home from a housing and homelessness service provider for the past eight years, after the private rental market became too expensive.
Ms Stevens receives a disability pension. She and her partner are raising three teenagers.
"They open up the fridge one minute. Next two minutes they open up the fridge again, and I say, 'magic hasn't appeared'," Ms Stevens said.
"The rent comes first, then the food, then whatever we can."
Families seek support
Bendigo Family and Financial Services general manager Jenny Elvey wants to see rent assistance increased and offered to a wider group of people.
She says some of the service's clients aren't eligible because of their income. Many of those that do receive rent assistance are still in difficulty.
"About 33 per cent [of clients] that we saw in the past few months that are struggling to pay their rent are receiving rent assistance," Ms Elvey said.
Echuca renter Ryan Ridgewell is among them. The single father receives $178 a fortnight in Commonwealth rent assistance.
"My actual rent is $720 a fortnight, so $178 is not a big cut out of that," Mr Ridgewell said.
"Some weeks it is really hard to get through and we use other services."
He says he puts everything into his housing because he cannot afford to lose the three-bedroom house where he and his daughters are living.
Mr Ridgewell said competition for rental homes in Echuca was fierce.
"I've got a friend looking for a house at the moment, and there's 70 people going for a house, so I make sure I keep that rent up, but the shortfall comes with everything else," he said.
Services seeing stress
Housing and homelessness services provider Haven; Home, Safe had more than 1,500 new regional clients who sought support for the first time last year.
Chief operations officer Vanessa Brotto said a boost to rent assistance and social and affordable housing stock was critical, with so many people doing it tough.
"We see many people on low incomes paying more than 60 per cent of their earnings on rent and struggling to cover necessities like food, energy bills, and medical requirements with what is left over," Ms Brotto said.
At Bendigo Family and Financial Services, Ms Elvey said many people had found their rents had risen since COVID-19 restrictions relaxed.
"Some of them have gone up quite a large amount, and the rent assistance hasn't gone up to reflect that increase," she said.
She said people were struggling to find affordable rentals, and those who were in properties were trying to stay there.
"Getting more affordable housing would be a huge step forward," Ms Elvey said.
$5b spend on rent assistance
In a statement, social services minister Amanda Rishworth said rent assistance was indexed to CPI twice a year to keep pace with increases in the cost of living.
"In November, Treasurer Jim Chalmers and I announced an Economic Inclusion Advisory Committee that will review the adequacy, effectiveness and sustainability of income support payments ahead of every federal budget," she said.
The government expects to spend more than $5 billion on Commonwealth Rent Assistance this financial year.
The minister said the government also provided about $1.6 billion a year to support states to deliver housing and homelessness services and programs.
