Low-income and disadvantaged households in the region bearing the brunt of soaring cost of living

These were among the findings of the NSW Council of Social Services 2022 Cost of Living Survey of low-income households in the Far West and Dubbo-Orana region.

The NCOSS considers those individuals receiving below $489 of income per week and couples with two children at $1,027 income on the brink of poverty.

In the Far West and Orana region, the latest Australian Bureau of Statistics has estimated the median weekly income of individual residents are well above the averages at $743 and families at $1,787.

The Dubbo-Orana region has one of the lowest unemployment rates in the country at 3.3 per cent as of last year, according to statistics by the Dubbo Regional Council.

The ABS has estimated 11,916 homes are rental properties in the Far West and Dubbo-Orana occupied by 28.6 per cent of the 115,566 residents with the median rental cost at $250 per week.

The NCOSS survey has however found 30 per cent of the region's low-income households who are renting are experiencing housing stress, 26 per cent are delaying buying medications and 21 per cent have not had a meal in some days.

NCOSS chief executive Joanna Quilty said the last three years of constant upheaval took a toll on Australians and the brunt was felt more by low-income and disadvantaged households.

"The effects of the last three years haven't been felt evenly, and we saw first-hand the dramatic divide right across the state," she said.

"We know it's low-income households and disadvantaged communities who have borne the brunt.

"That's why we need investment that wards off widening inequality and entrenchment of disadvantage.

"We have reached a tipping point where families are being hit by rising costs, stagnant wages, and on top of all that, seemingly never-ending natural disasters."

The survey was conducted in regions across the state and the results form part of the modeling of the latest NCOSS eight recommendations submitted to the NSW government's policymakers ahead of the state election in March "to seek purposeful action to combat these pressures" on households.

The recommendation called for increasing energy assistance to $1,600 annually, access to public dental services, affordable rental properties, extra funding for neighbourhood centres to expand services for disadvantaged households, social housing for families experiencing domestic violence, increase investment in children's safety intervention program, use of cashless gaming cards across NSW, and to expand the social services sector in rural and remote communities.

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The survey pertaining to the rising cost of living drew a reaction from the president of the Dubbo-based Walter T Grant Memorial Seniors Social Club, Jan Miller.

"Some pensioners are battling because typical weekly expenses have gone up, especially for those renting," Mrs Miller, 75, said.

"The rates and fees at retirement villages, fuel cost, and groceries have gone up so much especially fruits, vegetables, and meat, and these are things that seniors should have."

A typical single pensioner receives $987 a fortnight, according to Mrs Miller whose group is one of the oldest associations of seniors in the region.

"From that pension money, the biggest expense is their weekly rent if they don't live in their own home so money is just not enough but they just have to live on what they've got," she said.

"Pensioners do the battle a lot but I think many do survive, many are not homeless and we don't go without food, many are pretty well okay."