Anti-Poverty Week 2025

Media release

FRIDAY 17TH OCTOBER 2025

Poverty and housing stress deepen in the ACT as Anti-Poverty Week draws to a close

As Anti-Poverty Week (APW) 2025 ends, latest analysis shows poverty and housing stress worsening in the ACT for people on the lowest incomes.

To mark the week, ACT Council of Social Service (ACTCOSS) and Vincent de Paul Society Canberra/Goulburn have released a Snapshot on Poverty in the ACT, highlighting the key areas of local disadvantage and the actions needed to end it.

The snapshot complements a video released earlier this week, which amplifies the voices of frontline workers and their experiences supporting people in the ACT community.

The Poverty in Australia 2025 report from ACOSS and UNSW reveals one in seven adults now live in poverty, an increase from one in eight just three years prior. No gains have been made for children, with one in six still growing up in poverty.

In the same week, Anglicare released its latest companion piece to their 2025 Rental Affordability Snapshot, the Essential Workers Report, finding that not one rental is affordable for essential workers in the ACT, the worst result of any jurisdiction in the nation.

Earlier this year, the Rental Affordability Snapshot Report 2025 revealed there are no affordable rentals for young people on youth allowance in the ACT. With the latest data indicating a single young person receiving youth allowance has an income 48 per cent below the poverty line, there is cause for concern for young people who live and move to Canberra to study and begin their careers.

ACTCOSS CEO Dr Devin Bowles said:

“This Snapshot shows that poverty is growing, and the face of poverty is changing. More and more Canberrans have friends or family in full employment who are experiencing poverty or are starting to experience it themselves.”

“As the increase in people experiencing poverty continues, Canberrans understand that action to address it is personal. It is about protecting people they care about, and perhaps themselves in the future, not just statistics.”

“If essential workers like nurses, ambulance officers and aged care workers can’t afford rent in Canberra, how can the ACT Government expect to control its spending on health? To ensure ACT Government financial sustainability, swift action is needed to bring down housing costs and restore social housing to 10% of all housing stock.”

“Federally, income support payments should be lifted so that people receiving them are not condemned to poverty.”

“The uncomfortable truth is that we are at risk of becoming a city where opportunity slips further away from those who need it most.”

Lucy Hohnen, CEO of the St Vincent de Paul Society Canberra/Goulburn, said:

“Each day, our frontline teams meet people in our communities forced to choose between rent, food, or utilities. Many are at breaking point, and increasingly, they don’t fit the traditional profile of poverty. It’s time to act: invest in social housing, properly fund community services, and raise income supports so everyone can live with dignity.”

ACTCOSS advocates for social justice in the ACT and represents not-for-profit community organisations. Follow us @ACTCOSS on X, Facebook and Instagram.

For more information or comment, please contact

DR DEVIN BOWLES, CEO, ACTCOSS, on 0413 435 080

SOPHIA BRADY, MANAGER, COMMUNICATIONS & MARKETING ST VINCENT DE PAUL SOCIETY CANBERRA/GOULBURN, on 0491 014 350