What is poverty?

For over 1.2 million Australian children and young people growing up in poverty the impact of their economic status extends far beyond their home life.

In fact, one in three children from Australia’s most disadvantaged communities do not meet one or more key developmental milestones when they start school.

Then by the time they are 15 years old, disadvantaged students are on average 2-3 years behind in reading and maths.

And by the time they reach year 12, a student from a low socio-economic background has a high school completion rate of 60%, versus a student from a high socio-economic background who will have a 90% school completion rate.

The Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) defines the poverty line as half the median household income of the total population².

In Australia this translates to a single adult living on less than $426.30 a week. For a couple with 2 children, it was $895.22 a week¹.

In 2020, research by the Australian Council of Social Services (ACOSS) found of the three million people living in poverty in Australia, 750,000 are children and a total of 1.2 million are under the age of 24¹.

Disadvantaged students are on average 2-3 years behind in reading and maths by the time they are 15 years old.²

The reading gap between the lowest socio‑economic status (SES) students and the highest SES students is equivalent to almost three years of schooling.³

Year 12 completion rates are significantly lower (60%) for students from low SES backgrounds than for students from high SES backgrounds (90%).⁴

University students from high SES backgrounds are three times more likely to attend, than students from low SES backgrounds.⁵

Research shows that completing Year 12 (or equivalent) increases a young person’s likelihood of continuing with further study, as well as entering the workforce.⁶

It also leads to higher annual earnings for individuals, greater community involvement and economic benefits for the country as a whole.

Not completing Year 12 can lead to:

• Increased crime and poorer health outcomes among early school leavers
• Nationally lower levels of productivity
• Reduced quality of the labour force
• Increased unemployment
• Lower growth in income tax collections⁶

Our Learning for Life programs support children and young people to participate more fully in their education by providing innovative, evidence-based programs and emotional, practical and financial support throughout their schooling and tertiary education.

Our programs give disadvantaged students the skills, motivation and essentials to stay in school and get the most from their education so they can create a better future for themselves.