Housing crisis driving poverty in Orana and the Far West, new NSW Council of Social Services report reveals

A new report by the NSW Council of Social Services (NCOSS) has revealed the housing crisis is a key driver of poverty in regional areas, with mortgage holders experiencing the biggest increase in poverty, up by more than 80 per cent since 2016.

In Wellington alone, the poverty rate for homeowners with a mortgage almost tripled in the five years between the 2016 and 2021 censuses, from 5.1 percent to 14.2 percent.

Narromine also saw a large increase in the percentage of mortgage holders in poverty, with 9.2 percent experiencing poverty in 2021, a jump of 7.4 percentage points from 2016. Poverty among mortgage holders rose by 4.8 in Dubbo's east, 3.82 in west Dubbo and 3.29 in south Dubbo.

NCOSS CEO Joanna Quilty said the increase in poverty amongst mortgage holders in Dubbo is in line with increases observed in other regional areas across the state.

She said the report should be a "wakeup call" for the state's leaders and urged the NSW Government to respond quickly.

"These statistics are devastating, showing the grim reality of poverty reaching into every suburb and town in NSW - but with some communities really bearing the brunt," she said.

"What we are seeing is a housing crisis on multiple fronts - people experiencing poverty in rural and regional areas are most likely to be in the private rental market, but it's those still paying off a mortgage who are increasingly struggling."

The report, 'Mapping Economic Disadvantage in New South Wales', was based on 2021 census data analysed by the National Centre for Social and Economic Modelling (NATSEM) at the University of Canberra.

For the purpose of the report, researchers defined poverty as a household's disposable income after paying tax falling below a level considered adequate to achieve an acceptable standard of living. The number of people living in the household is also taken into account.

Overall, the poverty rate for regional NSW was higher than Greater Sydney, with young people between 15 to 24 and people older than 65 seeing the biggest average increases in the last five years.

The far west - including Broken Hill and Wilcannia - was revealed as the area in NSW which recorded the highest rate of poverty for home-owners with a mortgage, at 59 percent. It also has the highest rate of poverty in the state for private renters, at 58 percent.

Unsurprisingly, the group which saw the highest percentages of people living in property was public housing tenants. In Dubbo's south, 71.19 percent of public housing tenants are living in poverty, in Wellington the rate is 64.52 percent and in Narromine it's 57.55 percent.

"While public housing tenants in rural and regional NSW are small in number, the majority of them live below the poverty line," said Ms Quilty.

"We know that the situation has only gotten worse since 2021, with relentless rate hikes and soaring cost of living pressures."

"People living in poverty are resourceful and do whatever they can to survive. But we know for some, this can mean forgoing medication, healthcare or food to cover housing costs, or living in overcrowded or unsafe situations because there is no other option."

To address the housing crisis and curb the soaring poverty rates among mortgage holders and renters, NCOSS have put forward a set of "actionable and practical recommendations" they hope the NSW government will consider in the lead up to the end of financial year.

They would like to see the government boost supply of social housing in NSW to 10 percent of all housing stock and make renting more affordable and secure by increasing rental supply, capping rents, removing 'no grounds' evictions and establishing a Rental Commissioner.

They are also calling on the NSW Government to advocate for the federal government to lift income support payments to above the poverty line, and increase Commonwealth Rent Assistance by 50 percent.

A call shared by Dubbo's youth homelessness service providers.

"We are pleased the newly elected NSW Government has recognised the urgent need to address the state's housing crisis [..] and we look forward to working with the Government on these solutions," Ms Quilty said.

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