Students struggling to pay rent

Anglicare Australia says the Centrelink benefits are not enough for students to afford renting in the capital cities of Australia.

The charity has found only one per cent of properties are cheap enough for students to afford on their youth allowance payments.

Sarah Maunder reports

Anglicare Australia conducted an Australia wide survey two weeks ago which found that rental prices are soaring, and students are struggling more than ever. In an interview earlier today Anglicare Victoria CEO, Paul McDonald says the centrelink payments are not enough for students to live off of: “These are Dickensian formulas really that are built around the threshold of what you can earn verses keeping the benefit, and the same could be said for a range of other populations like the movement of single parents into the New Start allowance as well. These thresholds are just ridiculously thin”. Paul McDonald thinks the government needs to make cheaper housing stock for those on benefits. “We’ve got Gonski and NDIS basically in the process of being looked at, I think now we need to go to our next social policy ill Australia wide, and that is the lack of affordable housing for many on low incomes”. Sarah Maunder, City Journal News, Melbourne. 

 

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