The Queensland Council of Social Service’s 2025 Living Affordability Report shows families with children and single parents the hardest hit by cost of living pressures, with some in debt nearly $300 per week.
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The report analysed five model families – a single adult on JobSeeker; a single student; a single parent with two children; a couple with two children; and a single couple on the Age Pension – to determine whether low earners can afford the basic standard of living.
Only pensioners were found able to afford basic needs, with all other modelled households in weekly budget deficits between $17 and $277.
Some low-income households reported paying more than half their income in rent, with tens of thousands waiting for social housing.
Education expenses, food affordability and reduced bulk-billing services were also of concern.
QCOSS chief executive Aimee McVeigh said housing was the biggest cost of living issue in Queensland, as it was virtually impossible for a low-income family to secure an affordable rental.
“Keeping a roof over your head has become out of reach for so many working families, and yet the state government hasn’t reviewed eligibility for social housing in two decades,” McVeigh said.
“In addition to that, in the last 12 months, we’ve seen them wind back eligibility for crisis housing support.”
QCOSS called on both levels of government to give Queensland children equitable access to health, education and housing, by raising the income support rate and developing a families strategy.
“What we’ve seen year-on-year since COVID is that cost of living pressures are putting incredible strain on families with children,” McVeigh said.
“We have almost 100,000 single parent households who year-on-year are struggling to afford the basics, [and we] have a generation of children in Queensland who are growing up without access to a roof over their head, three meals a day, and proper healthcare.
“With families facing another bleak Christmas, it is time we recognise the immediate and long-term impacts of poverty and disadvantage to children.”
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