fact sheet

Poverty

Tasmania is not a wealthy state overall, and the gulf between top and bottom earners in the State also

is large.

Average weekly personal income, Tasmanian and national, May 20151

Tasmania: $961.50

Australia: $1136.60

Average Tasmanian disposable household weekly income, by income quintile, 2013-142

Q1 (poorest): $311

Q2: $460

Q3: $615

Q4: $798

Q5: $1,243

Income share, 2013-143 Q1 (poorest): 9.2%

Q2: 13.3%

Q3: 17.6%

Q4: 22.8%

Q5 (richest): 37.1%

Proportion of population classified as low income, 2013-144

Tasmania: 52.4%

Australia: 40.5%

Proportion of population with government pensions/allowances as the primary source of income, 2011-125

50%-90% of income: 11.5%

90%+ of income: 20.9%

1 ABS 6302, Average Weekly Earnings, Australia, Tables 11F and 1. 2 ABS 6523, Household Income and Wealth, 2013-14. 3 ABS 6523, Household Income and Wealth, 2013-14. 4 ABS 4130, Housing Occupancy and Costs, 2013-14, Table 20 5 ABS 6523, Household Income and Income Distribution, 2011-12.

2

A high proportion of Tasmania’s population is at risk of poverty.

Risk of poverty in Tasmania (calculated as 50% of median income), 2014 6

All of state: 15.1%

Hobart: 13.8%

Balance of state: 16%

Risk of poverty in Tasmania (calculated as 60% of median income), 2014 7

All of state: 25.8%

Hobart: 20.7%

Balance of state: 29.2%

Proportion of children under 15 in low income families, 20128

All of state: 25%

Launceston: 27%

Northern Region: 26%

Proportion of children under 15 in jobless households, 20129

All of state: 23%

Launceston: 21%

Proportion of people who could not obtain $2000 in a week for something important

2013: 12.2%.10

In the bottom two quintiles, 2009-10: 24.3%11

Poverty is located across the state, not just in the urban fringes.

Local Government Areas by deciles of relative socioeconomic advantage and disadvantage (Australia), 201112

Out of 29 LGAs:

In the lowest decile: 5 (Break O’Day, Brighton, Derwent Valley, George Town, West Coast)

In the lowest quintile: 14 (as above plus Burnie, Central Highlands, Devonport, Dorset, Glamorgan/Spring Bay, Glenorchy, Southern Midlands, Tasman, Waratah/Wynyard)

In the lowest third: 18 (as above plus Circular Head, Huon Valley, Kentish, Launceston)

In the top decile: --

In the top quintile: 2 (Hobart, Kingborough)

In the top third: 2 (Hobart, Kingborough)

6 ACOSS 2014. 7 ACOSS 2014. 8 State of Launceston’s Children 2012: Kids Come First. 9 State of Launceston’s Children 2012: ABS Tasmanian Regional Profile. 10 Tasmanian Population Health Survey, 2013. 11 ABS 6530, Household Expenditure Survey, 2009-10. 12 ABS, SocioEconomic Indices for Areas, 2011.

3

Some groups are at a much higher risk of poverty than the average.

Personal and household weekly income by indigenous status, 2011

Median total personal income

Indigenous households: $395

Non-indigenous households: $503

Indigenous to non-indigenous ratio: 0.79

Median total household income:

Indigenous: $923

Non-indigenous: $949

Indigenous to non-indigenous ratio: 0.97

Persons per household:

Indigenous: 3.0

Non-indigenous: 2.4

If you on a low income, you are more likely to find it difficult to:

Find and stay in housing

Percentage of rental properties affordable to low-income renters, April 201513

1842 properties in total, of which were affordable:

For people on Newstart and Youth Allowance, including single parents with youngest children over 8: Between 4 and 12 properties in total across the state.

For parents with youngest children under 8: Between 1% (27) and 5% (85) properties across the state.

For people receiving the Aged Pension: Between 7% (128) and 15% (270) of properties across the state.

Proportion of low income renters paying more than 30% of income on housing, 2014. 14

33.8%

Seek medical help

Proportion of population deferring medical care due to cost, 201415

GP visit: 6.9%

Prescription medication: 8.0%

13 Anglicare Rental Affordability Snapshot 2015. 14 Report on Government Services 2015: Housing, Sector Overview, 2015, Table GA.5. 15 Report on Government Services 2015: Health, Sector Overview, Table E.5

4

If you live in a poor area, you are more likely to:

Be unwell and die earlier

Estimated rate per population aged 15+ with fair or poor self-assessed health, by quintile of socioeconomic disadvantage of area, 201116

Q1 (richest): 12.4%

Q5 (poorest): 26.9%

Estimated proportion of population with high or very high levels of psychological distress, 201117

Q1 (richest): 6.4%

Q5 (poorest): 13.0%

Median age at death, 201118 Q1 (richest): 82

Q5 (poorest): 78

Be unemployed or have parents who are unemployed

Unemployment, 201119 Q1 (richest): 3.5%

Q5 (poorest): 14.5%

Long-term (6+ months) unemployment, 201120 Q1 (richest): 3%

Q5 (poorest): 10.8%

Proportion of children in jobless households, 201121 Q1 (richest): 9.6%

Q5 (poorest): 26.6%

Have a child who is developmentally vulnerable, who is not participating in school full-time, or

who is not fully engaged in either education or work

Proportion of children classified as developmentally vulnerable on 2+ developmental domains, 201222

Q1 (richest): 7.6%

Q5 (poorest): 17.2%

Full-time participation in secondary school education at age 16, 201123

Q1 (richest): 78.7%

Q5 (poorest): 60.5%

Proportion of population aged 15-19 fully engaged in education or work24

Q1 (richest): 83.7%

Q5 (poorest): 73.5%

16 PHIDU 2015, Monitoring Inequality in Australia: Tasmania. 17 PHIDU 2015, Monitoring Inequality in Australia: Tasmania. 18 PHIDU 2015, Monitoring Inequality in Australia: Tasmania. 19 PHIDU 2015, Monitoring Inequality in Australia: Tasmania. 20 PHIDU 2015, Monitoring Inequality in Australia: Tasmania. 21 PHIDU 2012: 2011 Census. 22 www.aedc.gov.au/data, 2012 23 PHIDU 2015, Monitoring Inequality in Australia: Tasmania. 24 PHIDU 2015, Monitoring Inequality in Australia: Tasmania.

5

Unemployment by LGA, highest to lowest, March 201525

Brighton: 11.9%

Derwent Valley: 11.6%

Tasman: 11.5%

Break O’Day: 11.3%

George Town: 10.6%

Burnie: 9.7%

Glenorchy: 9.5%

West Coast: 9.3%

Devonport: 9.2%

Huon Valley: 9.2%

Central Highlands: 8.8%

Launceston: 8.4%

Kentish: 7.6%

Southern Midlands: 7.2%

Waratah/Wynyard: 7.1%

Glamorgan/Spring Bay: 6.9%

Flinders: 6.8%

Dorset: 6.7%

Central Coast: 6.5%

Sorell: 5.7%

Clarence: 5.4%

Northern Midlands: 5.2%

Latrobe: 5.2%

Circular Head: 4.9%

West Tamar: 4.7%

Meander Valley: 4.6%

Hobart: 4.3%

Kingborough: 3.8%

King Island: 2.8%

25 Department of Employment, Small Area Labour Markets, LGA data tables, March 2015.