In a country as wealthy as Australia – being locked out of paid work, shouldn’t mean being locked into poverty.Raise Newstart.

There are more than 700,000 people currently looking for work, and more than 1.1 million people looking for more paid hours. Yet according to the latest available data, there are only 240,000 jobs available. Unemployment isn’t a choice, and people who are forced to experience it should be able to live with dignity and respect
Your income$1000/week
Minimum wage$720/week
Rate of pension$450/week
Cost of basic essentials$430/week
Newstart$278/week

When I come across my peers, people who are in exactly the same situation as me, we don’t feel so alone. And we hear each others stories and the wins we’ve had. And we feel like a family and that we actually do matter to people. And it actually empowers us, so when we are speaking up, other people feel brave enough to add their voices as well.

- Hayden

We come from different backgrounds, we come from all walks of life. And those that end up falling through the cracks, do need a society that maintains a standard that help them keep their dignity.

- Imogen
723k
people.

Who is on Newstart?1

3m

3 million Australians live in poverty.2

731k

731,000 children live in poverty.2

1.4m

1.4 million families are jobless.3

21%

21% of the 1.4m jobless families have no adult employment.3

339k

339,000 jobless families with dependants, accounting for 11% of all families with dependants.3

$40

$40/day: the amount people on Newstart have to cover food, rent, utilities, medicines, transport and clothing.4

  • [1] Department of Social Services, Demographic Data, December 2018
  • [2] ACOSS, Poverty in Australia 2018
  • [3] Australian Bureau of Statistics, 2017, Labour Force: Jobless Families, Cat. no. 6224.0.55.001
  • [4] Department of Human Services, Newstart Single Payment

In a country as wealthy as Australia – being locked out of paid work, shouldn’t mean being locked into poverty.

Raise Newstart.