The Challenge Defining the Future for 950,000 Australian Children

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Faiq Alyasare knows all too well the impact Australia’s rising cost of living is having on the country’s children.

Alyasare, who moved to Perth from Iraq more than 25 years ago, is married with four kids between the ages of three and 14.

As the sole income earner, the 50-year-old fly-in fly-out worker told SBS News he pushes himself to work as much as possible throughout the year, putting his hand up for extra weeks and avoiding taking sick days.

Even then, he says it’s become increasingly difficult to afford the basics, and stretching every dollar on essentials like rent and bills leaves little left over.

He recalls a time when $50 sufficed to fill an entire shopping cart with all the necessary groceries.

“You go now, $50 isn’t enough for one small bag,” he said.

Expenses such as clothing for his children also weigh heavily on his mind. “Kids are always in need,” he comments.

“Without significant action, Australia is on the brink of having over a million children living in poverty within months.”

Other families are also doing it tough. Data released by the Bankwest Curtin Economics Centre and the Valuing Children Initiative on Monday found 950,000 children will live in poverty in 2025 — more than 15 per cent of all kids in Australia. That’s up from 713,000 four years ago.

The data, based on information provided by the Household, Income and Labour Dynamics in Australia survey, found the child poverty rate had spiked 33 per cent in four years.

Child poverty is when a child lives in a household with a disposable income of less than 50 per cent of the national median income.

According to the Australian Bureau of Statistics, the median personal income in Australia for the 2022-23 financial year was $58,216.

Advocates say the report shows that when Australia’s families struggle with costs, children often pay the price — and that has serious consequences for the future.

Curtin economics professor Alan Duncan said the rise in child poverty was not a statistical anomaly but “the predictable result of housing stress, inadequate income support, and policy drift”.

Alyasare faces an uncertain future as his lease is due to expire in six months. He fears that if his landlord raises the rent, he will have no choice but to comply, as the risks of re-entering the rental market and searching for a new home are too great.

“I couldn’t enroll my son in the soccer team this year,” he shared. “I had to tell him we’ll have to wait and see about next year.”

Duncan said skyrocketing rents were a major factor in the surge in poverty, with the median advertised rent for units rising 40 per cent in Sydney, 34 per cent in Melbourne and 41 per cent in Brisbane between 2021 and 2023.

The country’s west coast hasn’t been immune either. Alyasare said that two years ago, he paid $500 a week in rent. Today, it’s $800 a week.

The median rental price for a house in Perth is $850 a week, according to REA Group, rising 9.7 per cent in the past 12 months. The median rental price for a unit is $695, up 6.9 per cent in the past 12 months.

Alyasare’s lease is set to end in the next six months. He says if his landlord tries to increase the rent, he won’t be able to refuse, because he can’t risk returning to the rental market and looking for another house.

In the wake of the report, the End Child Poverty campaign has called for a “child-centred” definition of poverty and a method of measuring how poverty affects young people’s wellbeing that is nationally agreed upon.

Campaign lead Sarah Quinton said poverty left children increasingly isolated, at a time when they should be developing important connections.

The report has also called for increases to relief payments and action to fix the structural causes of housing unaffordability.

For Alyasare, the cost of living has meant being unable to afford activities and programs that he knows would be beneficial for his kids.

“For my son, I couldn’t put him in the soccer team this year,” he said. “I took him off the team for this year and said: ‘Let’s see next year.’”

A man sitting on a children's bed, holding a soccer ball and trophy.

Faiq Alyasare could not afford the costs for his son’s football team this year. Source: SBS News / Christopher Tan

Larissa Muir is the CEO of 12 Buckets, a Perth-based charity that provides mentoring to students facing disadvantage.

“Children are sensitive to their environment,” she said. “Missing out on sport or excursions undermines their sense of belonging. These inequalities shape their future.”

Long-lasting impacts

Duncan agreed that poverty had long-lasting impacts on a child’s life.

“We find that poverty gets under the skin,” he told SBS News. “It’s something you carry with you for a large part of your life.”

Alyasare worries about his children’s future and how their potential may be damaged by not being able to afford the support they need to grow.

His son “likes to play soccer, but if you don’t get professional coaching … he’ll never go high-level,” he said. “Maybe he’s talented, but nobody knows until he starts training.”

Similarly, Alyasare can’t afford extra lessons outside school to further his son’s education. “Maybe he’s smart, bright, but he needs a push,” Alyasare said.

“If he doesn’t get help now to get a better future, that future is going to be downwards. And it will affect all society.”

A Department of Social Services spokesperson said “all children in Australia deserve the best start to life”.

They said the Australian government is “working to break the cycle of disadvantage, support people in need, and improve the wellbeing of families and children”, adding that the government had injected more than $11 billion in additional funding into the social security safety net in recent years.

— With additional reporting by the Australian Associated Press.