Another 237,000 Australian children in poverty in four years
Almost a quarter of a million children have been plunged into poverty in just four years – a 33 per cent increase – prompting advocates across Australia to call for urgent legislation to define and measure the impacts of poverty on childhood wellbeing.
New data from the Child Poverty in Australia 2025 report, released today by the Bankwest Curtin Economics Centre (BCEC) and the Valuing Children Initiative (VCI) for the End Child Poverty campaign, revealed more than 950,000 Australian children are experiencing food insecurity, poor housing conditions, and limited access to education and healthcare driven by rising housing costs, widening inequality and a failure of income support to keep pace with inflation.
The report goes beyond the latest HILDA data, projecting poverty under current economic conditions and factoring in the steep increases in rents and living costs since 2023.
Key Findings:
- Child poverty has increased by 236,350 children over four years – a 33 per cent increase.
- The rate has risen by 3.2 percentage points since 2021.
- The report projects 950,100 children will be living in poverty in 2025, up from 868,350 in 2023. This represents a rise of 81,750 children in just two years.
- Projected 15.6 per cent of children living in poverty in 2025—up from 15 per cent in 2023.
- Single-parent households are most affected, with 36.6 per cent living in poverty.
- This trend confirms the risk of surpassing 1 million children in poverty this year.
Backed by 180 organisations, the End Child Poverty campaign, calls on the Federal Governments to legislate a child-centred definition of poverty, commit to measures that impact children, and systematically reduce child poverty by aligning policy, funding, and accountability mechanisms with the evidence. The Act would consider not just the impacts of income but access to housing, education, health, and social inclusion on children.
Professor Alan Duncan, Director of the Bankwest Curtin Economics Centre, said rents have risen by around a quarter nationally over the past three years, and by nearly a half in some states, so using 2023 data alone would significantly understate today’s child poverty levels.
“Our modelling brings those housing cost pressures forward to give policymakers a far more realistic picture of where families now stand,” Professor Duncan said.
“This rise in child poverty is not a statistical anomaly; it’s the predictable result of housing stress, inadequate income support, and policy drift. Without meaningful intervention, Australia risks crossing the one-million-child threshold within months.”
End Child Poverty Campaign Lead Sarah Quinton said children know when they are living in low-income families and often adjust their behaviours to reduce stress in their family.
“Poverty shapes a child’s life. Some tell us they’re punished for wearing torn uniforms they can’t afford to replace, or sleep on mattresses on the floor. These experiences leave them feeling isolated from friends at a time when they should be building confidence and connections,” she said.
“Australia doesn’t have a child-centred definition of poverty or any way of measuring the wellbeing of children living in income poverty, if we don’t define or measure child poverty, how can we reduce it?”
Contacts
Sarah Quinton, Valuing Children Initiative, Squinton@valuingchildren.com.au 0439 439 233
Joanna Holcombe, Bankwest Curtin Economics Centre, joanna.holcombe@curtin.edu.au 0414 313 521
The Bankwest Curtin Economics Centre team acknowledges the Wadjuk Nyungar people as the traditional owners of the land on which the Centre is situated.