At lunchtime at the University of New South Wales in Sydney's east, hundreds of students patiently queue in silence for free food.
The queue begins at the entrance to Foodhub at the university's Kensington Campus, snakes around the corner and runs into the next street.
The students are not waiting in line for a free BBQ, they're after basic items like fruit and vegetables.
Students like Lola, who studies film, says she simply doesn't earn enough money to afford nutritious food.
"I'm a student so I could work maybe three days a week which does not support me at all," she says.
"I earn $23 an hour — if I get the hours that I want — so if I'm not working, I'm not earning."
Cost of living bites for students on low incomes
Workers' pay packets — particularly those on low incomes — have struggled to grow for the better part of a decade.
Official figures out this week show annual wage growth rose from 3.2 per cent in the September quarter to 3.3 per cent in the December quarter.
The problem is that the rate of growth in pay remains well below the rate of inflation at 7.8 per cent.
For students like Cherish Kuehlmann, regular rent increases hurt the most.
"My rent was increased in September," she told The Drum.
"Since then, I've had friends couch surfing with me, because their rent has gone up 45 per cent or because they're applying to 50 different properties and they're unable to find a room — let alone a unit or a share house — right now."
Here's where it gets a bit scary for renters on low incomes.
The Reserve Bank says it's keenly watching wages growth — it's worried Australians with fatter pay packets will only drive inflation higher as they spend more at the shops.
The bank has indicated it will respond with further rate hikes, and for students that means higher monthly rental payments.
"Landlords will take advantage of market prices to increase rent," Ms Kuehlmann said.
'You've got our wealth, and we're going to take it back'
Last Friday afternoon, students led by Ms Kuehlmann went to what they see as the source of the problem — the Reserve Bank headquarters in Sydney's Martin Place — for an unauthorised protest.
The protesters are angry because they believe profit-hungry big business and landlords are further fuelling inflation — that's leading to more interest rate hikes — and they're paying for that with higher rents.
They wanted Reserve Bank staff to hear their cries.
"We put every landlord on notice, we want to put the corporations of the world on notice, you've got our wealth and we're going to take it back," student activist Jack Mansell yelled outside the Reserve Bank's main entrance.
Ms Kuehlmann was arrested by NSW Police later that night.
"This is the next key issue facing young people — cost of living — we should have a right to go out and protest against the people responsible for this," she says.
NSW Police told the ABC as this matter is now before the courts, they are unable to comment further.
