There’s an urgent call to help those in poverty, as new figures reveal a soaring number of Australians living below the line.

According to exclusive numbers accessed by 9News, the high cost of housing remains the most significant driver of financial hardship.

For mother-of-three Angela Finch each day is not about spending or saving but struggle and survival.

“It’s in every living and breathing moment of my life and my children’s life,” she said.

For safety, she moved to a shelter, making it hard to continue her casual work. Her story is increasingly common.

A new report from the Council of Social Services and UNSW shows one in seven Australians live below the poverty line.

That’s 3.7 million people living on “less than half the median income”.

The study using data from 2023 illustrates a jump of nearly half a million people from the previous edition.

“There’s also the mum guilt cost where you think your children deserve something you can’t afford so you go without so they can feel like their friends feel,” Finch said.

Two generations after then prime minister Bob Hawke’s pledge that “by 1990 no Australian child will be living in poverty”, the Australian Council of Social Services report says one in six children now face poverty hardships.

“Those children are in every street, those children are in every school and people like me hide it,” Finch said.

Since the survey period jobseeker and rent assistance rates have risen but welfare groups say they need to go higher.

“We must fix the adequacy of social security that is the income floor that protects you,” ACOSS CEO Cassandra Goldie said.

Helping families out of poverty is a challenge.

Social Services Minister Tanya Plibersek said a jobseeker was about $4000 a year better off since Labor came into government.

“That builds on cheaper medicines, more bulk billing, fee-free TAFE, five per cent deposits,” she said.

Keeping up with rents is the biggest challenge as housing remains the biggest driver of the cost of living.

One issue raised at the recent economic roundtable was how Australians struggling to find work can be matched with the many businesses crying out for workers

“We know that there are people looking for workers and we know people are looking for jobs – we need an employment services system that can get people into those jobs long-term,” Goldie said.