An End to Child Poverty

One in six children live below the poverty line in Australia. The Commissioner continues to support the work of the Valuing Children Initiative in advocating for an end to Child Poverty. The Commissioner, along with the ANZCCGA, called on federal, state and territory governments to legislate to better target child poverty in Australia an introduce a National Child Poverty Reduction Bill on their Joint Statement on Poverty that was released on 17 October 2024.

In 2022, nearly one in nine (11.8 per cent) of children in Western Australia were living in poverty, affecting around 71,000 children. Rising costs and a tightening housing market are expected to push another 21,000 children into poverty. The 2021 Census revealed that more than 95 per cent of the poorest single-parent families were headed by women.

Child poverty in WA fell during the COVID epidemic but has risen again with current statistics showing 99,000 children living below the poverty line in WA. These alarming statistics continue to inform the work of the Commissioner going forward.