Our 2022 Poverty in Australia Snapshot found that there are 3.3 million people (13.4%) living below the poverty line of 50% of median income, including 761,000 children (16.6%). In dollar figures, the poverty line works out to $489 a week for a single adult and $1,027 a week for a couple with 2 children.
Key findings in the Poverty in Australia 2022 report
More than one in eight people in Australia (13.4 per cent) lived below the poverty line in 2019-20, the first year of the pandemic. That amounts to 3,319,000 people. One in six children (16.6 per cent) live in poverty, which is 761,000 children.
Nearly three million Australians live in poverty
In Australia, the poverty line is defined as: A single adult living on less than $433 a week, before housing costs.
More than 50% of Australians identified themselves as belonging to the middle class. 40% identified themselves as belonging to the working class. Less than 3% considered themselves amongst the upper class.
On a mean wealth basis, Australia was the fourth-richest country in 2021 behind Switzerland, the US and Hong Kong. The average Australian adult was worth $US550,110 at the end of last year, after enjoying a $US66,350 annual increase in wealth.
We use two poverty lines – 50% of median income and 60% of median income, whereby people living below these incomes are regarded as living in poverty. We also take into account the costs of housing when calculating income – referring to income before or after housing costs are taken into account.
Band 6 equals 90 – 100 marks. Band 5 equals 80 – 89 marks. Band 4 equals 70 – 79 marks. Band 3 equals 60 – 69 marks.
That leaves the middle classes, 60% of Australia's population, with the other 48% of earnings. The top 20% also owns just shy of two thirds of Australia's wealth (63%).
It then goes on to describe those middle income Australians as individuals earning between $120,000 and $160,000 a year.
Australia is now home to 2.2 million millionaires, according to a new study. Half of all Australians in 2021 had more than $400,000 in wealth. It means we have the highest median wealth of all the countries studied.
Step 1: Determine the family's poverty threshold for that year. The family's 2021 poverty threshold (below) is $33,148.
The worst performing states are Tasmania, with incomes 26% below the national income and wealth average, as well as South Australia which is 19% below the average household income and 20% below the national net wealth.
Results On the above definition, 9.3 per cent of all Australians are living in poverty. The state with the highest poverty rate is Tasmania (12.7 per cent) followed by South Australia and Queensland with 11.1 and 9.9 per cent of their respective populations in poverty.
The average Australian savings account balance varies depending on your age. According to a Westpac survey released in December 2021, the average customer has $22,020 in their savings account. The bank said this figure was likely skewed by larger deposit holders and pointed to a “more realistic figure” of $3,559.
The average Australian would need to earn over $300,000 a year to consider themselves as officially "rich", new research has found.
So if you're on $100k or more, congratulations, you're in the top 20% of Aussie income earners. If not, don't worry, you're in the good company of 80% of Aussies.
A Pass = E (40%-45%) A Fail = below 40%
Students are retained only in exceptional circumstances where a school considers it is required for the long-term benefit of the student, for example, considering their social, welfare and academic needs.
Average household debt grew by 7.3 per cent to $261,492 in 2021-22, according to the latest figures from the Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS).
Over a lifetime:
qualification and have children can expect to earn around $3.3m over their working life, nearly double the amount for women in the same category at $1.8m. lifetime earnings is pervasive across all age groups, but is most pronounced between men and women with children.