Economic distress hitting thousands of south-west Victorian households

The analysis from the Victorian Council of Social Service found one in eight south-west residents were struggling with poverty, roughly in line with the state average. This tallied to at least 12,700 people in the region stretching from Corangamite Shire in the east to the South Australia border in the west and up to Southern Grampians Shire in the north.

The areas with the highest rates of disadvantage were Glenelg Shire and Portland, where 16 per cent of the population, or 3100 people, lived below the poverty line.

As the regional centre, Warrnambool had the largest population facing serious disadvantage with 4100 people, or 13 per cent of residents, in poverty.

The sub-regions of Corangamite South and Moyne West had roughly 10 per cent of their populations in economic disadvantage, which was the lowest rate in the south-west.

The two areas were likely buoyed by their more affluent seaside communities. Moving to the northern section of Corangamite Shire the poverty rate jumped up to 14 per cent, while in Camperdown it was 12 per cent.

Hamilton and Southern Grampians were also struggling more than the regional average, with 14 per cent of the population classified as economically disadvantaged.

The statistics were compiled by the National Centre for Social and Economic Modelling using 2021 Census data and the 2019-20 Survey of Income and Housing.

Across Victoria the rate of disadvantage was 13.3 per cent, but certain groups were at a much higher risk of economic pain than the general population. People with a disability were 2.6 times more likely to live in a low-income household, Indigenous people were nearly twice as likely to be in poverty, and people who didn't speak English well were also 2.5 times more likely to be in economic disadvantage.

Women were also more likely to be living below the poverty line, making up 55 per cent of Victorians experiencing economic disadvantage. This statewide trend was reflected in the south-west, with women constituting between 51 and 57 per cent of those in poverty across the various sub-regions.

Unemployed people were much more likely to be experiencing poverty. In Moyne more than 30 per cent of unemployed people were in economic distress while in Warrnambool it was nearly 40 per cent.

People who were the lone adult in their household were also much more likely to be living in poverty, with single parents two to three times more likely to be struggling than the general population. In Moyne East 42 per cent of single parents were in economic distress.

Meanwhile people living alone were also struggling, especially in Warrnambool where more than one in three single-person households was experiencing economic disadvantage.

Troublingly, children were also more likely to be experiencing poverty than the general population. In Warrnambool North and Moyne East nearly 20 per cent of people under 15 years old were in economic distress, while in Corangamite North it was 25 per cent, in Portland 23.5 per cent and in Glenelg 27 per cent.

The figures were mostly informed by the 2021 Census, when the Victorian economy was still recovering from COVID-19 lockdowns, but the authors of the report suggested the figures were a fair snapshot of the population. They said if anything the figures may have become worse in the two years since, as cost-of-living pressures pushed more and more households to the brink.

The authors highlighted the transformative effect COVID-19 government support measures had on poverty rates in 2020.

During that period the government doubled the Jobseeker allowance and increased rental supports for some people. As a result, child poverty more than halved from 23.2 per cent to 9.6 per cent and poverty for unemployed people dropped 90 per cent, from nearly 40 per cent to just over five per cent.