In such a rich country, it is shameful how many Australians on jobseeker are dying in desperate poverty | Greg Jericho
News Source
β’Wed, 16 Sep 2026 15:00:22 GMT
π° What Happened
New data from the Australian Institute of Health and Welfare shows how deadly poverty can be. Australians on jobseeker are up to ten times more likely to die than people not on welfare support.
In 2022, 30 out of every 100,000 people aged 35 to 44 not on welfare died. For those on jobseeker the figure was 288 per 100,000, which is 9.6 times higher. About 3,985 people on jobseeker died that year.
Jobseeker payments are about half the poverty line. A single person gets roughly $300 a week less than they would need to reach it.
π The Backstory
Every government since 1996 has let the gap between the payment and poverty stay wide or grow. The one exception was 2020, when the Morrison government briefly doubled jobseeker during Covid.
That year the death rate for people on jobseeker fell 32%, from 328 to 224 per 100,000. Unemployed Australians overall are now nearly five times more likely to die than those not on welfare.
Raising jobseeker to the poverty line, about $37,000 a year, would cost roughly $11bn. Treasury expects the richest 10% to get about $22.5bn in superannuation tax breaks this year.
π― Why It Matters
Poverty shortens lives through worse food, less healthcare and less exercise. Lifting the payment would keep thousands of Australians alive each year.
New data from the Australian Institute of Health and Welfare shows how deadly poverty can be. Australians on jobseeker are up to ten times more likely to die than people not on welfare support.
In 2022, 30 out of every 100,000 people aged 35 to 44 not on welfare died. For those on jobseeker the figure was 288 per 100,000, which is 9.6 times higher. About 3,985 people on jobseeker died that year.
Jobseeker payments are about half the poverty line. A single person gets roughly $300 a week less than they would need to reach it.
Every government since 1996 has let the gap between the payment and poverty stay wide or grow. The one exception was 2020, when the Morrison government briefly doubled jobseeker during Covid.
That year the death rate for people on jobseeker fell 32%, from 328 to 224 per 100,000. Unemployed Australians overall are now nearly five times more likely to die than those not on welfare.
Raising jobseeker to the poverty line, about $37,000 a year, would cost roughly $11bn. Treasury expects the richest 10% to get about $22.5bn in superannuation tax breaks this year.
Poverty shortens lives through worse food, less healthcare and less exercise. Lifting the payment would keep thousands of Australians alive each year.