Every Sign Tells a Story
Explore our resources to gain insights into poverty and its impact on education.
Understanding Poverty in Australia and Its Impact on Education
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Understanding poverty is essential for educators because children rarely express hardship directly. Instead, poverty reveals itself through everyday signs that influence learning, wellbeing, and participation at school. Recognising these signs allows educators to respond with empathy, accuracy, and appropriate support rather than misinterpretation.
This section introduces what child poverty is in Australia, how common it is, and why it matters for schools.
What is Child Poverty in Australia?
Child poverty refers to children living in households without the financial resources needed for an acceptable standard of living. It’s commonly measured as living on less than 50% of the national median equivalised household income after housing costs.
This can include:
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Enough healthy food
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Safe and stable housing
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School supplies and uniforms
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Access to healthcare
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Internet or digital devices for learning
Poverty is more than low income.
What Poverty can look like
Access to the Internet
Healthy Food
Safe & Stable
Housing
School Uniforms
& Supplies
Healthcare
Digital Learning
Lack of access to...
How common is it in Australia?
1 in 6
children aged 0-14 are in poverty
That's 950,000+ Children
Kids growing up in poverty too often go to bed or school hungry; they can feel left out if they can’t afford to join a local sport team or go on school camps; they may be living in an overcrowded home where there’s no quiet place to do homework and they worry about their parents.
What is "Deep" Poverty?
Some families are struggling much more than others.
Many families in poverty are well below the poverty line.
This means they are missing out on essentials every single week — not just occasionally.
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This deeper level of poverty makes daily life much harder and increases stress for both children and parents.
Families living in deep poverty often:
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Miss out on basic needs every week
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Struggle to afford food, rent, bills, and school items
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Live with constant financial stress
For children, this can mean ongoing hunger, tiredness, worry, and difficulty learning.
Why are so many families struggling?
Housing costs are a major reason.
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Rent has increased sharply in recent years
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Low-income families spend most of their income on housing
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This can lead to overcrowding or frequent moves
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For Children this means ...
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Poor sleep
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Anxiety and stress
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Difficulty focusing at school
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“There are some days that I can’t go out in the car
due to the cost. We can’t afford to have the heater on
at night. We use blankets and our house has damp.
We can’t afford to use the electricity at night. We use
torches instead of turning the lights on. The kids
can’t have baths anymore.”
“They’re used to hearing,
‘I’m OK, I ate while I was cooking“
– single mum from Melbourne.
