St Vincent de Paul Society urge Albanese government to double income support payments

Figures released by the St Vincent de Paul Society reveal that in the Dubbo area, there are 336 families currently being assisted by St Vinnies; 78 per cent were regularly provided with food while 39 per cent were assisted with paying rent.

The same figures show 34,000 people across NSW sought assistance in the last 12 months; 84 per cent asking for food while 55 per cent are facing housing pressures.

"People on limited incomes are being hit the hardest by the rising cost of food, rents, household bills, petrol and other necessary expenses to sustain a dignified standard of living," St Vincent de Paul Society NSW chief executive officer Jack de Groot said.

"More than ever those struggling are turning to St Vincent to stay above water."

Last month, St Vinnies Dubbo raised more than $5,000 from the St Vinnies CEO Sleepout at the Old Gaol on Macquarie Street, but the charity wants more tangible help to support locals experiencing hardships to get them out of the poverty cycle.

A total of $267,083 were raised by St Vinnies from sleepouts held in Dubbo, Albury, Armidale, Central Coast, Hunter, Orange, Southern Highlands, Tamworth, Tenterfield, Tweed Heads, Wagga Wagga, and Western Sydney on August 19.

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Jobseekers and people with disability receiving pensions consist of nearly 60 percent of those who sought St Vinnies' help because they are the ones facing hardships due to skyrocketing cost of living, Mr de Groot said.

The Society has called on prime minister Anthony Albanese's Labor government to make changes to Centrelink's income support payments for an estimated 830,000 Australians receiving various forms of government assistance, particularly unemployment benefits and disability support pensions.

A single jobless person on more than $325 per fortnight rent can get $145.80 rental assistance while a couple can get $130 for rental over $390, according to Services Australia.

Among the society's proposed changes are rental assistance they believed should be raised by 50 percent and income support for the jobless increased by an extra $300 a fortnight.

They also sought a replacement of the National Rental Affordability Scheme ending in 2026, including indexing income support payments in line with the Consumer Price Index.

The Reserve Bank has raised the interest for the fifth time this week, lifting the cash rate to 2.35 percent, the highest so far, in an effort to bring down the seven percent projected inflation this year.

The RBA governor Philip Lowe said the inflation rate is expected to be just a little above four percent by next year and three percent by 2024 with growth in economy and wages and "to keep the economy on even keel".

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The social services minister Amanda Rishworth has announced government support payments will increase by four percent from September 20 as part of the regular indexation.

Mr de Groot said the increase will not make a dent in the financial condition of low-income families and many will slip into poverty unable to keep up with the surging cost of daily living.

"It's good to see an increase to payments but it is a routine indexation and they start from a very low base," Mr de Groot said.

"Jobseekers are paid below the most common measures of the poverty line. The inflation rate may be 6.1 percent but the cost of housing is nine percent more.

"Zero percent of private rentals were unaffordable to a single person on jobseeker payment."