Local developer Harridan is seeking to turn its Woolloongabba apartment project into the first stage of a broader transformation of Burke Street, using a new 16-storey mixed-use building to establish a greener pedestrian connection toward the rapidly evolving Boggo Road transport and knowledge precinct.

The South East Queensland developer has filed plans for 154 apartments on the <a href="https://www.apartments.com.au/new-apartments/4-burke-street-woolloongabba-qld-4102">southern side of Burke Street</a>, where its proposal has been designed alongside a wider vision by LatStudios for the street.

That vision positions the southern side of Burke Street for buildings of 15 storeys and above, while envisaging lower-rise development of up to five storeys on the northern side to transition into Woolloongabba's existing character housing. It also proposes wider pedestrian verges, deep planting, new street trees and upgrades to the pedestrian approach to Boggo Road Station.

The Harridan development itself has been designed by Brisbane-based Arqus Design and will comprise 154 apartments across 16 storeys. The mix is weighted heavily toward two-bedroom apartments, with 121 proposed alongside 10 one-bedroom and 23 three-bedroom residences. There will typically be around 14 units per floor.

A lower-ground car park and three podium levels will accommodate 156 resident parking spaces, along with visitor and commercial parking. There will also be 154 resident bicycle spaces and 40 visitor bicycle parks.

&nbsp;

Harridan is a family-owned developer and part of the Holmwood Highgate Group, with more than three decades of development activity across South East Queensland. Its portfolio spans residential, commercial and industrial property, with current residential projects including Riverbank on Byron in Bulimba, Esperance Residences in Carina and The Precinct at Kinross Road in Thornlands.

Wooloongabba has been popular for apartment developers, particularly since the announcement of the 2032 Summer Olympics games in Brisbane.

While there have been a lot of development applications, it has failed to materialize into real supply.&nbsp;

Sarazin has been the major player in the area. They are under construction at Murcia Residences, on the fringe of East Brisbane and Woolloongabba. They have just launched <a href="https://www.apartments.com.au/new-apartments/the-stanley-residences-woolloongabba-8-trafalgar-street-woolloongabba-qld-4102">The Stanley Residences</a>, in Woolloongabba on Trafalagar Street. They also have Nuage coming soon on the nearby <a href="https://www.apartments.com.au/new-apartments/nuage-woolloongabba-14-wellington-road-woolloongabba-qld-4102">Wellington Road</a>.

Joel Robinson

First look: Harridan plans Burke Street transformation beside Boggo Road transport hub

IN BRIEF

<ul>
	<li>
	Just three double-storey Sky Homes sit at the top of The Waterline, each with its own private marina berth and rooftop terrace.
	</li>
	<li>
	Construction on The Waterline is complete, with the first residents expected to move in from mid-October.
	</li>
	<li>
	Sky Homes range from 282 sqm to 367 sqm and are priced from $3.65 million.
	</li>
</ul>

<hr />
Lewis Land has opened the first completed sky home for inspection at Harbour Shores, giving buyers their first opportunity to step inside one of just three double-storey residences crowning The Waterline.

Each sky home comes with its own private marina berth, rooftop terrace and Broadwater views, combining the scale of a larger home with direct access to the boating lifestyle that underpins the wider <a href="https://www.apartments.com.au/new-apartments/harbour-shores-biggera-waters-564-oxley-drive-biggera-waters-qld-4216">Harbour Shores</a> masterplan.

[smartcode_project:default project_id=113271 project_image_fid=366708]

Lewis Land Head of Development Michael Long said the inclusion of a berth with every Sky Home had become increasingly valuable as marina access across the Gold Coast tightened.

“Marina berths are becoming increasingly difficult to secure across the Gold Coast, so including one with every Sky Home makes this a genuinely rare offering,” Long said.

“The private 70-berth marina will accommodate boats up to 12 metres in length and is positioned just 2.5 kilometres from the Broadwater, placing the open ocean only 15 minutes away.

“Being able to step out of your home onto your boat is a rare luxury, and it’s something residents here can look forward to when it opens later this year.”

[smartcode_project:default project_id=113271 project_image_fid=366709]

The display opening comes as construction completes on The Waterline, with the first residents expected to move in from mid-October.

The three Sky Homes range from 282 sqm to 367 sqm and each feature three bedrooms, three bathrooms, multiple living zones, expansive kitchens with butler's pantries and large balconies taking in the Broadwater outlook.

Each residence also has three secure basement car spaces and additional storage.

“This is the first opportunity the Gold Coast has had to step into Harbour Shores and see, touch and feel what we’re bringing to life here,” Long said.

“There are only three Sky Homes within The Waterline, ranging in size from 282sqm to 367sqm, with each residence featuring three large bedrooms, three bathrooms, multiple living zones, expansive custom-built kitchens with butler’s pantry, and large balconies capturing Broadwater views.”

<img alt="Harbour Shores" data-entity-type="file" data-entity-uuid="bab65e10-4fab-45e1-92d8-fc56e2ab98ff" src="https://s3.ap-southeast-2.amazonaws.com/www.urban.com.au/s3fs-public/inline-images/Screenshot%202026-08-25%20at%202.00.16%E2%80%AFPM.png?VersionId=XT8q76LsPkw3cYTsvN3JfFDaPLud90PN" />

Residents of The Waterline will have access to a private pool, along with Harbour Shores' wider collection of amenity including a lagoon pool, social clubhouse, tennis court, gym, yoga facilities and sauna.

Lewis Land partnered with Studio Collective to furnish the completed display, with the interiors designed to demonstrate how the residences could function as permanent homes rather than simply as show apartments.

Studio Collective Director Melissa Park said the surrounding waterways informed the interiors, but in a more restrained way than a traditional coastal scheme.

“We drew inspiration from the canals and coastal surrounds, but our approach was to interpret that subtly through layered materials and a grounded palette of earthy tones, rather than literal coastal references,” Park said.

“We introduced hero moments of green and teal to reference the surrounding waterways, while mirrored elements help reflect natural light.

“The result is a residence that feels elevated yet comfortable, somewhere buyers can genuinely imagine themselves living, entertaining and unwinding.”

Sky Homes are priced from $3.65 million.

Lewis Land is also offering private marina berths with The Residences, its limited collection of three and four-bedroom villas positioned directly along the Harbour Shores waterfront boardwalk.

Three-bedroom villas are priced from $2.99 million, while four-bedroom residences start from $3.19 million.

Harbour Shores is being marketed by Colliers International.

[smartcode_project_cta:default project_id=113271]

Lewis Land opens sky home display as The Waterline completes at Harbour Shores

St Vincent de Paul Society Housing Australia has filed plans for a major mixed-use housing precinct on the southern edge of the North Sydney CBD, adding another significant proposal to a pocket around North Sydn​ey Station that is quickly becoming one of the LGA's busiest development zones.

The State Significant Development Application covers a 5,990 sqm site at <a href="https://www.apartments.com.au/new-apartments/1-19-mackenzie-street-lavender-bay-nsw-2060">1-19 MacKenzie Street and 211 Blues Point Road in Lavender Bay</a>, immediately south of Nor​th Sydney Station and between the commercial core and the lower-rise Lavender Bay Heritage Conservation Area.

Designed by Wardle, the proposal would deliver a new residential tower comprising 88 build-to-sell apartments and 19 affordable apartments, alongside a separate co-living building with 57 rooms and a building manager's studio.

It would also see the significant restoration and upgrade of St Francis Xavier Catholic Church, the adaptive reuse of the former school building, new parish facilities, retail, a new public square and around 1,000 sqm of publicly accessible open space.

<img alt="Vinnies North Sydney" data-entity-type="file" data-entity-uuid="d5dd7f87-a617-463e-b577-17541e01f0e9" src="https://s3.ap-southeast-2.amazonaws.com/www.urban.com.au/s3fs-public/inline-images/Screenshot%202026-08-26%20at%209.10.13%E2%80%AFAM.png?VersionId=4R8TsFN3P_LrrXO2HswTOIrx2blil8lh" />

The project is seeking a concurrent rezoning of the site to R4 High Density Residential and an increase in the maximum building height to allow a tower reaching RL120, or up to 20 storeys. The proposal was progressed through the NSW Government's Housing Delivery Authority pathway.

The build-to-sell component will be weighted toward larger apartments, with just six one-bedroom apartments compared with 31 two-beds, 43 three-beds and eight four-bedroom residences.

The 19 affordable apartments will comprise two studios, 15 one-bedroom apartments and two two-bedroom apartments, taking the total apartment component to 107 residences before the 58 co-living rooms are included.

<img alt="Vnnies" data-entity-type="file" data-entity-uuid="7d568ca5-cb90-4e18-96c6-d9795dba0c56" src="https://s3.ap-southeast-2.amazonaws.com/www.urban.com.au/s3fs-public/inline-images/Screenshot%202026-08-26%20at%209.10.05%E2%80%AFAM.png?VersionId=GY2R5M9VtQh0EKy1vajaea19PSLOPuRD" />

Wardle's design for the Vinnies site has sought to negotiate that emerging high-rise context while retaining the lower-scale character of MacKenzie Street and the adjoining heritage conservation area.

The main building adopts a three-storey podium and tower arrangement, with the podium aligned to the ridgeline and front setback of St Francis Xavier Church.&nbsp;Wardle has designed the podium with colonnades, seating, recessed entries and active ground-floor frontages, with sandstone-toned precast concrete and face brick referencing the materiality of the existing church.

The tower then steps back eight metres to the south and six metres to the north before rising in a sculpted form comprising four interlocking quadrants. Wardle has also introduced rounded forms and chamfered corners to reduce the tower's perceived bulk and improve view sharing with neighbouring development sites.

Resident facilities and outdoor areas are planned at the separation between the podium and tower at Level 3, oriented toward Sydney Harbour and the CBD skyline.

The tower itself will feature a glass reinforced concrete facade, with recessed balconies and deep reveals used both to provide shading and privacy and frame views toward the harbour and city. The lower levels take a different architectural approach, using brick and sandstone-toned finishes intended to establish a stronger relationship with St Francis Xavier Church. The Church itself will be conserved and upgraded for its continued use, while the former school building will be adaptively reused as part of the co-living component.

<img alt="Lavendar Bay" data-entity-type="file" data-entity-uuid="2d4418ad-90aa-4d49-af93-c80b140aea80" src="https://s3.ap-southeast-2.amazonaws.com/www.urban.com.au/s3fs-public/inline-images/Screenshot%202026-08-26%20at%209.09.47%E2%80%AFAM.png?VersionId=Kv4gzbsACaGvZSRuaqcfGC54jEJRXIDJ" />

&nbsp;

The proposal adds to an increasingly concentrated pipeline of residential development around Blue Street, MacKenzie Street and Lavender Bay.

Just west of the site, Central Element lodged plans earlier this year for one of the most significant residential developments proposed in Lavender Bay in recent years.

Central Element's SJB-designed scheme at 64-66 Lavender Street and 3-7 Middlemiss Street would deliver 163 apartments across two towers rising 23 and 32 storeys, replacing five existing apartment buildings containing 32 homes. The project also forms part of the Housing Delivery Authority pathway.

<a href="https://www.apartments.com.au/news/nsw/first-look-central-element-reveals-lavender-bay-apartment-plans?utm_source=chatgpt.com" rel="noopener" target="_blank">First look: Central Element reveals Lavender Bay apartment plans</a>

Immediately around North Sy​dney Station, another two significant proposals have emerged at 5 and 15 Blue Street.

Zurich Australian Insurance Properties is seeking to adaptively reuse its longstanding commercial building at 5 Blue Street, directly above North Sydney Station, rather than demolishing the structure.

Its SSDA proposes converting the building into a 14-storey mixed-use development with 62 apartments and 86 co-living rooms, together with ground-floor retail and a major refurbishment of Blue Street Plaza. The application is currently at the Response to Submissions stage.

<a href="https://www.apartments.com.au/news/nsw/first-look-zurich-targets-north-sydney-office-conversion-with-148-unit-proposal-above-metro-station">First look: Zurich targets North Sydney office conversion with 148-unit proposal above Metro station</a>

&nbsp;

First look: Vinnies files for 20-storey Lavender Bay apartment tower as North Sydney housing pocket heats up

When the opportunity arose for South Australian developer Palumbo to return to Kent Town, where it had previously delivered East Park Apartments and the East 
Rundle Apartments, it wasn't one the longstanding developer-builder was going to pass up.

The decision was quickly vindicated, with more than 30 apartments sold within the first month of launching <a href="https://www.apartments.com.au/new-apartments/royal-apartments-kent-town-2-8-north-terrace-kent-town-sa-5067">Royal Apartments</a> to the market.

The 206-apartment development, which will bring significant new supply to Adelaide's tightly held eastern city fringe, also gives <a href="https://www.apartments.com.au/developers/palumbo">Palumbo</a> the opportunity to bring new life to one of Kent Town's most recognisable watering holes.

[smartcode_project:default project_id=6109 project_image_fid=376073]

Royal Apartments incorporates the historic Royal Hotel, a venue Palumbo Managing Director Daniel Palumbo said has a longstanding connection with the local community.

"Everyone in the area has history with the Royal Hotel," Palumbo told Apartments.com.au.

"It was quite an active pub and social gathering place for locals. We want to bring it back to its former glory."

[smartcode_project:default project_id=6109 project_image_fid=376072]

The wider development will comprise two residential towers alongside the restored hotel, sitting on North Terrace opposite the Adelaide Park Lands.

For Palumbo, the project also marks a return to familiar territory.

The developer completed East Park Apartments next door more than a decade ago and jumped at the opportunity to develop in Kent Town again when the Royal Hotel site became available.

"The opportunity emerged, and we moved to secure the site," Palumbo said.

"We were approached by the previous landowner, who said they had extensive commitments in Sydney and weren't in a position to deliver the project.

"We took over the site and within six months recut the design scheme to be more in keeping with the type of development we want to bring to Adelaide.

"Now we're on the market and those changes have really resonated with local buyers."

That has translated into a strong start to sales, with 33 apartments transacting in the project's first 35 days.

Palumbo said the early purchaser profile had been consistent with the group's traditional focus on owner-occupiers rather than investor-led apartment stock.

"Local owner-occupiers have always been our market," he said.

"There are always some investors, but we've never developed what would be called traditional development stock. Owner-occupiers are very much our market."

[smartcode_project:default project_id=6109 project_image_fid=376068]

The buyer mix has been diverse so far, with downsizers and younger professionals both accounting for a significant portion of early sales.

South Australia's current stamp duty settings, which allow&nbsp;eligible homeowners in South Australia aged 60 savings of up to $103,830 on stamp duty when they downsize to a new property valued at up to $2 million,&nbsp;have helped encourage downsizer activity, while younger buyers in their late 20s and early 30s have been attracted to the opportunity to live immediately outside the CBD while still being able to walk into the city.



Location has been a major part of the proposition for both buyer cohorts.

[smartcode_project:default project_id=6109 project_image_fid=376075]

Royal Apartments sits on North Terrace directly opposite the Adelaide Park Lands, with residents able to walk through the parklands toward the East End, Rundle Street and Rundle Mall.

Apartments have been positioned to capture views across the parklands, Adelaide skyline, Botanic Gardens and Adelaide Hills.

Palumbo believes the scarcity of developable land along this section of the Park Lands makes the site particularly difficult to replicate.

"There's very few allotments on that side that can be developed," he said.

"If this location was in New York and you were sitting on Central Park, you'd be talking about a $60 million apartments."

Royal Apartments will offer a broad mix of residences, ranging from one-bedroom apartments through to four-bedroom sub-penthouses and penthouses.

Current listings include one-bedroom apartments from $680,000, while larger three and four-bedroom residences are priced around $2.5 million.

Residents will have access to a swimming pool, gym, barbecue and recreation areas, residents' lounge and dining space, and a communal deck.

[smartcode_project:default project_id=6109 project_image_fid=376067]

The apartments will feature generous balconies, while secure parking, bicycle storage and storage cages will also be provided.

A porte-cochère-style arrival and drop-off area has also resonated with buyers, particularly those attracted to being able to walk into the CBD during the day while retaining secure vehicle access at home.

Palumbo is acting as developer, architect and builder on Royal Apartments, continuing the vertically integrated model it has used across its South Australian portfolio.

The group was also behind the $150 million Sofitel Adelaide, the 251-room five-star hotel and residential tower which opened in 2021.

Palumbo said Royal's launch had come at an interesting time for the broader Adelaide apartment market.

Buyer confidence had initially been impacted by uncertainty surrounding the Federal Budget and broader economic conditions, but Palumbo believes sentiment is beginning to improve against a backdrop of significant investment flowing into South Australia.

He pointed to increased activity across defence and resources, including Olympic Dam, as potential long-term drivers of the state's economy and housing market.

"Money is starting to flow into Adeliade, significant amounts as Adelaide bucks the trend of the rest of the country.," Palumbo said.

"There's a lot of activity in the economy over the next decade. I think more investment will come into this market."

Early works on Royal Apartments are expected to commence this year, with major construction activity and cranes anticipated on site from early next year.

[smartcode_project_cta:default project_id=6109]

Palumbo's return to Kent Town strikes early chord with buyers

Go-to builder-developer <a href="https://www.apartments.com.au/developers/graya">GRAYA</a> is continuing to bulk out its already impressive and diverse apartment portfolio across South East Queensland. Their latest milestone is securing development approval for Silk, its boutique riverfront apartment development in St Lucia.

The approval clears&nbsp;the way for the team to begin construction planning for the 22-residence project.

<a href="https://www.apartments.com.au/new-apartments/silk-st-lucia-16-18-sandford-street-st-lucia-qld-4067">Silk</a> will rise 15 levels from an 810 sqm site at 16-18 Sandford Street, occupying a prominent bend of the Brisbane River with a prized northern aspect across Orleigh Park toward the Brisbane CBD.

The approved scheme will comprise 16 split-floor and six full-floor residences, continuing GRAYA's move into larger-format apartment developments targeting Brisbane's prestige owner-occupier market.

The project has been designed around the site's broad river frontage and dual-direction views, with GRAYA prioritising larger residences, privacy and outlook over apartment yield.

<img alt="Silk St Lucia" data-entity-type="file" data-entity-uuid="aa5c2349-f96c-4914-a812-1f2cd6827af8" src="https://s3.ap-southeast-2.amazonaws.com/www.urban.com.au/s3fs-public/inline-images/Screenshot%202026-08-26%20at%208.25.44%E2%80%AFAM.png?VersionId=WY0vEU_7vYjeRJKQHiCwFdMxu8PvFh52" />

GRAYA Co-founder and Chief Executive Officer Rob Gray said the project had been shaped around local homeowners wanting to remain in St Lucia without maintaining a traditional family home.

"St Lucia is one of those suburbs people do not want to leave," Gray said.

"They know the river, the trees, UQ, the golf course, Toowong and Indooroopilly, and that familiarity is hard to replace.

"True riverfront opportunities here are exceptionally scarce. What we have designed at Silk is a way to stay in the suburb people love, with the scale and privacy of a private home and far less to maintain.

"This is not typical apartment product. It is a proper home on the river, and that is exactly what this market has been missing."

The approval comes as new apartment development continues to increase across the St Lucia and neighbouring Toowong corridor, although direct riverfront sites remain considerably more tightly held.

GRAYA Co-founder and Managing Director Andrew Gray said securing the approval had removed a significant element of development risk from Silk.

"Genuine riverfront sites of this quality in St Lucia are not something that comes up regularly," Gray said.

"The approval removes a substantial layer of execution risk, and the location underwrites demand in a way very few inner-city sites can.

"The fundamentals here are as strong as anything we have assessed in Brisbane."

<img alt="Silk St Lucia" data-entity-type="file" data-entity-uuid="d0f3d734-65e1-48e8-8ed3-2e0715ffcdd9" src="https://s3.ap-southeast-2.amazonaws.com/www.urban.com.au/s3fs-public/inline-images/Screenshot%202026-08-26%20at%208.25.56%E2%80%AFAM.png?VersionId=sOLSs_jdHkXLWbBKzRyayf5BfTb2vPsD" />

Silk will see GRAYA return to a stretch of the Brisbane River where it already has recent construction experience. The vertically integrated group recently completed ARC in neighbouring Toowong as builder for developer Spyre, delivering the riverfront project on a constrained site.

GRAYA will take a different role at Silk, controlling the project from design and development through construction and aftercare under its vertically integrated model.

The development will include a gym and resident leisure areas at ground level, integrated with the river's edge.

Silk joins a growing pipeline for GRAYA across Brisbane and the Gold Coast, which includes Enclave, The Gallery, Coral and Ripple.

The developer-builder has also recently lodged plans for its largest project to date, <a href="https://www.apartments.com.au/new-apartments/the-silo-19-chester-street-newstead-qld-4006">The Silo</a>, a proposed <a href="https://www.apartments.com.au/news/qld/graya-buys-frasers-newstead-site-plans-the-silo-between-james-street-and-gasworks-precincts">$700 million mixed-use development</a> in Brisbane's James Street precinct.

Silk is expected to predominantly target local owner-occupiers and prestige buyers seeking a permanent riverfront home in Brisbane's inner west.

Registrations of interest are now open, with further details on the project and construction program to be released as it progresses.

<hr />
<h2>SILK PROJECT FACTS</h2>

Developer-builder: GRAYA

Project: Silk

Location: 16-18 Sandford Street, St Lucia

Apartments: 22

Built form: 15 levels

Site: 810 sqm riverfront holding

Mix: 16 split-floor and six full-floor residences

Status: Development approved

Next step: Construction planning underway

[smartcode_project_cta:default project_id=152168]

GRAYA greenlit for riverfront St Lucia apartment development, Silk

Poverty

<html><body>
EXPERT INSIGHT

Many Australians whose jobs were decimated by the COVID business shutdowns will soon be waking up to new income shocks and the prospect of rental stress. This is because people whose employers can’t afford to keep them on will suddenly lose more than A$300 per week when the <a href="https://www.ato.gov.au/general/jobkeeper-payment/">JobKeeper</a> scheme <a href="https://www.ato.gov.au/General/JobKeeper-Payment/JobKeeper-key-dates/">ends on March 28</a>. Worryingly, this income shock will happen just days before the payment to people on the <a href="https://www.servicesaustralia.gov.au/individuals/services/centrelink/jobseeker-payment">JobSeeker</a> benefit is effectively <a href="https://www.ideas.org.au/blogs/jobkeeper-jobseeker-what-has-changed#:%7E:text=The%20JobSeeker%20Payment%20replaced%20the,This%20was%20announced%20in%20November.">cut by $100 per fortnight</a>.

At that point, all income support recipients – more than 2.6 million people – will be below the poverty line and many will face extreme rental stress.

This income shock has been anticipated for some time, but what does it means for rates of rental stress, particularly in Victoria? Despite <a href="https://www.theage.com.au/politics/federal/victoria-s-economic-recovery-to-outstrip-all-other-states-as-nation-bounces-back-20210115-p56ufo">promising signs of recovery</a>, Victorian jobs lost in the COVID-induced recession, such as in the hard-hit <a href="https://www.theage.com.au/national/victoria/business-tourism-on-its-knees-as-covid-19-casts-long-shadow-over-events-20210203-p56z2j">business tourism</a> and <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/culture/2021/feb/22/more-job-losses-ahead-for-australian-live-music-industry-operators-warn">live music industries</a>, have not bounced back at the same rate as others.

What will happen to rental affordability?

To illustrate this point we have modelled housing affordability for single people who were on either the full-time or part-time JobKeeper rate. In this scenario, they could also get JobSeeker payments at a part-rate because of the temporary increase in the <a href="https://www.propertyobserver.com.au/https://www.servicesaustralia.gov.au/individuals/topics/income-test-jobseeker-payment/29411">income-free threshold to $300</a>. This made them eligible for <a href="https://www.dss.gov.au/housing-support/programmes-services/commonwealth-rent-assistance">Commonwealth Rent Assistance</a> too.

The chart below shows the impacts on income and rental affordability when JobKeeper and <a href="https://www.servicesaustralia.gov.au/individuals/services/centrelink/coronavirus-supplement">Coronavirus Supplement</a> payments end. Their incomes and the amount of rent they can afford are roughly halved.

<img alt="" height="278" src="https://s3-ap-southeast-2.amazonaws.com/www.urban.com.au/s3fs-public/pictures/article-images/jobkeeper_poverty.jpg" width="754">

Full-time and part-time single workers were able to afford weekly rent of $265 and $245 respectively before the withdrawal of JobKeeper. Afterwards, affordable rent goes down to $115 per week. That’s about $110 less than the <a href="https://www.dhhs.vic.gov.au/sites/default/files/documents/202011/DHHS%20Rental%20Report%20September%20quarter%202020.docx">$450 median rent</a> ($225 per person) for a two-bedroom share house in Melbourne.

Based on <a href="https://theconversation.com/city-share-house-rents-eat-up-most-of-newstart-leaving-less-than-100-a-week-to-live-on-123772">our earlier calculations</a>, this leaves these renters with only $17.57 per day to meet basic costs. They have a lavish $3.57 per day more than they did before the pandemic to pay for food, utilities and job-seeking costs such as mobile phone plans and travel cards (A$4.40 a day in Melbourne).

What is different now than for pre-COVID unemployment was that business shutdowns thrust people who had reliable earnings – and accompanying high rents and mortgages in metropolitan areas – onto JobSeeker and JobKeeper payments.

The chart below shows the change in rental affordability for a number of household types before the pandemic and during the Coronavirus Supplement stages (i.e. payments of $550, then $250, then $150).

<img alt="" height="391" src="https://s3-ap-southeast-2.amazonaws.com/www.urban.com.au/s3fs-public/pictures/article-images/jobkeeper_poverty_2.jpg" width="754">

For example, when their income was highest during the $550 stage, two singles sharing could afford rent of $430 per week. Once the supplement ends and is replaced by the <a href="https://www.smh.com.au/politics/federal/it-breaks-my-heart-jobseekers-hit-back-at-25-a-week-dole-increase-20210225-p575p9">$25-a-week increase in JobSeeker</a> payment, affordable rent declines to only $230 per week or $115 each.

Rental affordability for single-parent households is notable here because the COVID Supplement was payable to one person only. Once the supplement is withdrawn, they will again be disadvantaged relative to other households because they will not be receiving the increase in the JobSeeker payment.

What sort of job losses can we expect?

It is hard to predict exactly how many people will lose their jobs when JobKeeper ends. What we do know is the economic recovery in Victoria has lagged behind the other states. We also know that at the end of December 2020 <a href="https://theconversation.com/victorians-struggle-to-exit-jobkeeper-as-the-schemes-end-looms-155288">1.55 million people</a> were on JobKeeper and a large proportion of them (626,000) were in Victoria.

Economist Jeff Borland <a href="https://drive.google.com/file/d/1kE4f5qxNQwdh5Xp_6l2Cu-HrjiZvfkrB/view">conservatively estimates</a> national job losses could range between 125,000 and 250,000. It is reasonable to expect as many as half of these could be in Victoria.

Our analysis also shows there are worrying signs that the economic recovery celebrated in the January labour force data was not sustained in February. The latest data provided to a <a href="https://www.aph.gov.au/Parliamentary_Business/Committees/Senate/COVID-19/COVID19">Senate inquiry</a> into COVID-19 show JobSeeker recipients increased by 7,267 between <a href="https://www.aph.gov.au/DocumentStore.ashx?id=60c91b42-dde2-415f-9f9b-7d5fd3935cb6">January</a> and <a href="https://www.aph.gov.au/DocumentStore.ashx?id=9c1805cb-fe51-419b-8a7b-61315c64c302">February</a>. The increase in Victoria could be attributed to the temporary Christmas retail boom, but in states like New South Wales and Queensland claims decreased slightly.

While <a href="https://www.propertyobserver.com.au/https://www.abc.net.au/news/2021-03-17/jobkeeper-end-will-hit-these-postcodes-hardest/13242400?nw=0">fewer people</a> will lose their jobs in other states than in Victoria when JobKeeper is withdrawn, they are not immune to this income shock. We created the chart below to show the overall scale of the coming problem of rental stress when the fortnightly $150 Coronavirus Supplement disappears and is replaced by the $50 JobSeeker increase.         

Once the supplement reduced to $250 per fortnight, singles and single parents with two children were below the poverty line.  When it was reduced to $150, the number of household types in poverty increased again. From April 1, all income support recipients – covering more than 2.6 million people including children – will be waking up to poverty and the prospect of extreme rental stress.

What can be done to avoid this?

So how can governments prevent people from falling off the rental cliff? It is unlikely to be achieved by introducing <a href="https://www.propertyobserver.com.au/https://www.abc.net.au/news/2021-03-10/tourism-coronavirus-pandemic-assistance-package-cheap-flights/13235432">cut-price flights</a> to Far North Queensland.

A new range of strategies will be needed. These include options <a href="https://www.acoss.org.au/wp-content/uploads/2021/03/Strengthening-Income-Support-Bill-2021.pdf">advocated by ACOSS and others</a> to increase the maximum rate of Commonwealth Rent Assistance by 50%, increase the JobSeeker base rate above the poverty line and introduce rental stress grants targeted at individuals who need help.

Over the longer term, there is also a need to adopt strategic approaches to increase the supply of affordable rental housing such as those <a href="https://www.ahuri.edu.au/housing/policy-analysis/increasing-affordable-rental-supply">recommended by researchers</a> at the Australian Housing and Urban Research Institute (AHURI).<img alt="The Conversation" height="1" jamjgoj="" src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/157244/count.gif?distributor=republish-lightbox-basic" tblrv1n7b="" width="1">

<a href="https://theconversation.com/profiles/simone-casey-130516">Simone Casey</a>, Research Associate, Future Social Service Institute, <a href="https://theconversation.com/institutions/rmit-university-1063">RMIT University</a> and <a href="https://theconversation.com/profiles/liss-ralston-295934">Liss Ralston</a>, Adjunct associate, <a href="https://theconversation.com/institutions/swinburne-university-of-technology-767">Swinburne University of Technology</a>

This article is republished from <a href="https://theconversation.com">The Conversation</a> under a Creative Commons license. Read the <a href="https://theconversation.com/at-least-2-6-million-people-face-poverty-when-covid-payments-end-and-rental-stress-soars-157244">original article</a>.
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Many Australians whose jobs were decimated by the COVID business shutdowns will soon be waking up to new income shocks and the prospect of rental stress

At least 2.6 million people face poverty when COVID payments end and rental stress soars

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EXPERT OBSERVER
New research on disadvantage in Australia has found the gap between rich and poor is very wide in Sydney, while much of Queensland struggles with educational disadvantage and regional NSW and Victoria are both more disadvantaged when it comes to health.
Previous research on poverty has placed a heavy emphasis on income and economic outcomes at a given point in time. But disadvantage often goes beyond just economic factors. It’s also necessary to analyse the educational, health and social inequities in society to get a more accurate understanding of disadvantage.
At the core of our new research, published in our <a href="https://mappingthepotential.cssa.org.au/index.php/about/" target="_blank">Mapping the Potential report</a>, is the idea that disadvantage in Australia is more varied and complex than many people may think.
How we conducted our research
This research, conducted by the ANU Centre for Social Research and Methods and commissioned by Catholic Social Services Australia, expands on the socioeconomic indexes produced by the Australian Bureau of Statistics by adding more detailed variables across health, education, social and economic domains.
We also incorporated a “persistence” element to disadvantage – in that, disadvantage isn’t tied to a singular point in time, but persists for a longer period.
In our research, disadvantage was data-driven. And to quantify disadvantage, we chose variables that were generally considered relevant for each area. For economic disadvantage, for instance, we looked at low incomes, low-skilled jobs and unemployment. Areas with a large share of people with these characteristics tended to be more disadvantaged.
Health disadvantage was based on various chronic health conditions, such as diabetes, heart and circulatory conditions, and obesity.
Educational disadvantage focused on levels of educational attainment and child educational disadvantage - both cognitive and physical development. We used data from the <a href="https://www.education.gov.au/australian-early-development-census#:%7E:text=The%20Australian%20Early%20Development%20Census,in%20the%20community%2C%20not%20individuals." target="_blank">Australian Educational Development Census</a> to gauge this.
Social disadvantage was less clearly defined. We focused on variables that contribute to <a href="https://www.oecd.org/insights/37966934.pdf" target="_blank">social capital</a>, or the interpersonal networks that help a society function effectively. Regions with social disadvantage, for example, tended to have low rates of volunteering, internet connection and social cohesion.
Geographically, we analysed these variables at the <a href="https://www.abs.gov.au/websitedbs/D3310114.nsf/home/Australian+Statistical+Geography+Standard+(ASGS)" target="_blank">SA2 level</a> (areas comprised roughly of suburbs and towns) across Australia. We then aggregated the results to the federal electorate level to avoid singling out and possibly stigmatising individual suburbs.
For comparison purposes, each index was standardised to an average score of 1,000 across all SA2s. Nearly all SA2s (95%) had a score between 800 (high disadvantaged) and 1,200 (low disadvantage).
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/336906/original/file-20200522-102642-2uyeuo.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&amp;q=45&amp;auto=format&amp;w=1000&amp;fit=clip"><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/336906/original/file-20200522-102642-2uyeuo.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&amp;q=45&amp;auto=format&amp;w=754&amp;fit=clip" alt=""></a>
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To better understand differences between our major populations, we further aggregated our results to nine larger geographic entities: the five major capitals, the regional areas of NSW, Queensland and Victoria and a “catch all” remainder of Australia region. This last grouping was used due to the small number of electorates in some states and territories.
The most disadvantaged parts of Australia
The key finding of the report is there is considerable variation in the types of disadvantage experienced across Australia. Moreover, the types of disadvantage varied between locations, as well.
Australia’s most disadvantaged electorate overall was Hinkler in regional Queensland. Hinkler ranks poorly in three of the disadvantage domains we tracked: health, economic and social.
Australia’s least disadvantaged electorate is North Sydney.
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/336908/original/file-20200522-102678-4snacf.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&amp;q=45&amp;auto=format&amp;w=1000&amp;fit=clip"><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/336908/original/file-20200522-102678-4snacf.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&amp;q=45&amp;auto=format&amp;w=754&amp;fit=clip" alt=""></a>
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When we looked at each type of disadvantage individually, we found that electorates had very different needs.
From an economic perspective, for example, our most disadvantaged electorate is Blaxland in Western Sydney. Our most disadvantaged health electorate is Braddon in regional Tasmania.
The most disadvantaged educationally was Spence in the northern suburbs of Adelaide. Socially, the most disadvantaged electorate was Parkes in regional NSW.
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/336919/original/file-20200522-57709-h82zlg.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&amp;q=45&amp;auto=format&amp;w=1000&amp;fit=clip"><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/336919/original/file-20200522-57709-h82zlg.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&amp;q=45&amp;auto=format&amp;w=754&amp;fit=clip" alt=""></a>
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When comparing the larger regions in our report, we found Adelaide faces the most disadvantage overall, while Sydney and Perth have, on average, the least overall disadvantage.
Even the best-performing regions have pockets of high disadvantage. For example, while Sydney has a relatively strong overall result, it also has the most economically disadvantaged electorate in Australia (Blaxland) and several suburbs with scores below 800.
The research also shows the vast disparities between urban and regional areas in Australia. For example, according to our data, nearly the whole of regional NSW is considered disadvantaged. In contrast, the inner suburbs of Sydney are much better-off.
<img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/316985/original/file-20200225-24694-1eticck.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&amp;q=45&amp;auto=format&amp;w=754&amp;fit=clip" alt="">
Differences in disadvantage between regional NSW and greater Sydney.
Most concerning was the deep level of disadvantage found in predominantly Indigenous communities, mostly in the Northern Territory. The electorate of Lingiari, for instance, has a marked split between the relatively advantaged suburbs around Darwin and the deeply disadvantaged areas outside the city.
We also found a number of electorates in coastal NSW, Queensland and Tasmania with significant health disadvantage. This is concerning given the threat of future outbreaks of COVID-19.
Why this data matters
The indexes remind us that despite nearly 30 years of continued economic growth in Australia, prosperity has not come to all parts of the country. Nor is economic advantage necessarily an indication of other facets of well-being, such as educational or health equality.
This data is important because it can help non-profit organisations make better-informed decisions on where and how to allocate future resources and investments.
It will also help governments at all levels gain a deeper understanding of the types of disadvantage that exist within regions and how their programs and other methods of assistance – both financial or non-financial – can be most effective.
<a href="https://theconversation.com/profiles/ben-phillips-98866" target="_blank">Ben Phillips</a>, Associate Professor, Centre for Social Research and Methods, Director, Centre for Economic Policy Research (CEPR), <a href="https://theconversation.com/institutions/australian-national-university-877" target="_blank">Australian National University</a> and <a href="https://theconversation.com/profiles/brenton-prosser-10876" target="_blank">Brenton Prosser</a>, Professor, <a href="https://theconversation.com/institutions/university-of-canberra-865" target="_blank">University of Canberra</a>
This article is republished from <a href="https://theconversation.com" target="_blank">The Conversation</a> under a Creative Commons license. Read the <a href="https://theconversation.com/where-are-the-most-disadvantaged-parts-of-australia-new-research-shows-its-not-just-income-that-matters-132428" target="_blank">original article</a>.
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j.ballantyne1990-6AQqhLzZaK

Where are the most disadvantaged parts of Australia? New research shows it's not just income that matters

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GUEST OBSERVATION
 
As COVID-19 slows in developed countries, the virus’s spread is speeding up in the developing world. Three-quarters of new cases detected each day are now in <a href="https://www.economist.com/leaders/2020/06/04/the-pandemic-is-still-gathering-pace-in-most-of-the-world">developing countries</a>. And as the pandemic spreads, governments face juggling the health consequences with economic ones as this shifts to becoming an economic crisis.
Our <a href="https://doi.org/10.35188/UNU-WIDER/2020/834-4">research</a> shows that the poverty impact of the crisis will soon be felt in three key ways. There is likely to be more poverty. It is likely to become more severe. And as a consequence, the location of global poverty will also change.
Having looked at estimates from a range of sources – including the Asian Development Bank, Goldman Sachs, IMF and OECD – we considered <a href="https://www.wider.unu.edu/sites/default/files/Publications/Working-paper/PDF/wp2020-77.pdf#page=4">three possible economic scenarios</a> stemming from COVID-19, where global income and consumption contracted by 5%, 10% or 20%. We found that the economic shock of the worst-case scenario could result in up to 1.12 billion people worldwide living in extreme poverty – up from 727 million in 2018.
This confirms our earlier estimates that the coronavirus could push up to 400 million people into extreme poverty, defined by the World Bank as living on less than US$1.90 per day – the average poverty line in low-income developing countries. This number rises to over 500 million if using the World Bank’s higher average poverty lines for lower middle-income (US$3.20) and upper middle-income (US$5.50) developing countries.
The potential increase is driven by millions of people living just above the poverty line. These people are likely to be badly affected because many of them work in the informal sector, where there is often little in the way of social security. Such a rise in extreme poverty would mark the first absolute increase in the global count since 1999 – and the first since 1990 in terms of the proportion of the global population living in poverty.
On the intensity of the poverty, the resources needed to lift the incomes of the poor to above the poverty line could increase by 60%, from US$446m a day in the absence of the crisis to above US$700m a day. For the existing extreme poor and those newly living in extreme poverty, their loss in income could amount to US$500m per day.
In terms of where poverty is located, it is likely to increase dramatically in middle-income developing countries in Asia, such as India, Pakistan, Indonesia and the Philippines. This points to the fact that much of the previously poor population in these countries moved to just above the poverty line. In other words, these countries’ recent economic progress has been relatively fragile. We’ll also likely see new poverty in countries where it has remained relatively high over the last three decades, such as Tanzania, Nigeria, Ethiopia and the DRC.
How to respond to the poverty pandemic
COVID-19 poses a significant threat to developing countries, as their health systems tend to be weaker. More severe cases have also been linked to <a href="https://www.propertyobserver.com.au/https://academic.oup.com/eurheartj/article/41/22/2058/5851436">high blood pressure</a>, <a href="https://theconversation.com/coronavirus-and-diabetes-the-different-risks-for-people-with-type-1-and-type-2-139079">diabetes</a> and <a href="https://www.bbc.com/future/article/20200427-how-air-pollution-exacerbates-covid-19">air pollution</a>, all of which are prevalent in developing countries. Meanwhile, there are suggestions that COVID-19 could hinder the treatment of other illnesses <a href="https://www.imperial.ac.uk/news/197257/covid-19-pandemic-could-significantly-increase-hiv/">such as TB, HIV/AIDS and chronic malaria</a>.
But developing countries generally have a lower proportion of people at high risk from COVID-19 in terms of age (&gt;70 years). As such, <a href="https://www.ft.com/content/31eb2686-a982-11ea-a766-7c300513fe47">economic shocks</a> may pose a greater relative risk to their populations. The question emerges as to whether <a href="https://www.wider.unu.edu/publication/africa%E2%80%99s-lockdown-dilemma">lockdowns</a> are the best option to contain the virus in developing countries if they entail severe income losses. Estimates of the share of jobs that can be <a href="https://www.nber.org/papers/w26948">performed at home</a> is less than 25% for many developing countries – much lower than the ~40% recorded in, for example, the USA and Finland. It’s as low as ~5% in countries such as Madagascar and Mozambique.
Consequently, <a href="https://www.independent.co.uk/independentpremium/voices/coronavirus-poverty-economic-crisis-imf-world-bank-g7-a9561161">there’s also a clear need</a> for a range of social safety-net policies. These already exist in many developing countries, but their coverage and funding needs to be expanded substantially. <a href="https://www.ugogentilini.net/wp-content/uploads/2020/06/SP-COVID-responses_June-12.pdf">Such policies</a> include cash transfer programmes, universal one-off cash payments, in-kind food/vouchers, school feeding schemes and public works programmes. In middle-income developing countries, these are funded by the national government, whereas in low-income countries these are often co-funded by donors. Any set of policies should also incorporate “pay to stay home” or “pay to get tested” schemes.
The long crisis
Looking further ahead, the poverty impacts beyond 2020 are closely related to if or when an effective vaccine is developed. Even if we take the best-case scenario and a vaccine is discovered later this year, it’s uncertain how long it would take to reach the entire global population. It could take years.
There is no guarantee developing countries would get access to the vaccine at a reasonable cost, or if everyone in developing countries would get the vaccine for free. We could end up living in a new COVID-19 apartheid, with the vaccinated and non-vaccinated residing in separate areas and working in different labour markets. This is a startling but <a href="https://www.independent.co.uk/independentpremium/long-reads/coronavirus-vaccine-latest-cure-covid-19-oxford-university-trump-who-america-a9493966">very real possibility</a> that no one is talking about much yet.
While this might sound far off, there are already some countries – <a href="https://www.reuters.com/article/us-health-coronavirus-chile/chile-to-push-ahead-with-coronavirus-release-certificates-despite-who-warning-idUSKCN2280NW">such as Chile</a> – issuing “immunity passports”. Such passports might determine what work people can do by determining where they can go. This could leave the poorest without access to earning opportunities or only with lower-income opportunities if their movement is restricted.
The crisis is increasingly looking like a long crisis. If so, it will have repercussions on global poverty for years to come.<img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/140662/count.gif?distributor=republish-lightbox-basic" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" style="border: none !important; box-shadow: none !important; margin: 0 !important; max-height: 1px !important; max-width: 1px !important; min-height: 1px !important; min-width: 1px !important; opacity: 0 !important; outline: none !important; padding: 0 !important; text-shadow: none !important;">
<a href="https://theconversation.com/profiles/andy-sumner-1124293">Andy Sumner</a>, Professor of International Development, <a href="https://theconversation.com/institutions/kings-college-london-1196">King's College London</a>; <a href="https://theconversation.com/profiles/christopher-hoy-1124330">Christopher Hoy</a>, Research and Policy Fellow, <a href="https://theconversation.com/institutions/australian-national-university-877">Australian National University</a>, and <a href="https://theconversation.com/profiles/eduardo-ortiz-juarez-1124325">Eduardo Ortiz-Juarez</a>, PhD Student, <a href="https://theconversation.com/institutions/kings-college-london-1196">King's College London</a>
This article is republished from <a href="https://theconversation.com">The Conversation</a> under a Creative Commons license. Read the <a href="https://theconversation.com/global-poverty-coronavirus-could-drive-it-up-for-the-first-time-since-the-1990s-140662">original article</a>.
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Coronavirus could drive up global poverty for the first time since the 1990s

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GUEST OBSERVATION
Young Australians aged 18 to 26 are 1.8 times more likely to receive welfare if their parents ever received welfare. 
Australians like to think we live in a country of the fair go, where anyone with the talent and willingness to work hard can succeed.
But the evidence shows success is still partly inherited. Children with poor parents are more likely to grow up and be poor as adults.
The latest biennial report of the <a href="https://www.aihw.gov.au/reports/australias-welfare/australias-welfare-2019-data-insights/contents/summary" target="_blank">Australian Institute of Health and Welfare</a> highlights the ways in which social and economic position is transmitted between generations.
Research points to several key factors in inherited disadvantage — notably parental disability, family structure and unemployment.
Gender patterns
Understanding the nature and extent of inherited disadvantaged in Australia has been aided by five significant research studies in the past five years. Four of them use data from the comprehensive Household, Income and Labour Dynamics in Australia (HILDA) Survey. The fifth used tax records to estimate the intergenerational mobility of people born between 1978 and 1982.
Among the results to come from these studies are estimates of the degree to which a 10% increase in fathers’ earnings affect their sons’ earnings. The studies offer a range of 1% to 3.5% – with a higher percentage meaning less social mobility.
One study highlights some interesting gender variations. It found a 10% increase in a father’s earnings associated with a 2% increase in sons’ earnings, but only a 0.8% increase in daughters’ earnings. A 10% increase in mothers’ earnings was linked to a 1.6% increase in sons’ earnings and a 1.5% increase in daughters’ earnings. This suggests girls’ earning trajectories are slightly less determined by their parents’ experience.
Other findings, however, point to certain types of disadvantage being most inherited by women. For example, those raised by a single parent receiving parenting payments are 2.2 times more likely to become a single-parent payment recipient themselves – and women make up <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/australia-news/2019/apr/19/its-soul-destroying-the-stress-and-stigma-of-being-a-single-parent-on-welfare" target="_blank">more than 80%</a> of single-parent payment recipients.
Patterns of transmission
The single-parenthood pattern was among those identified in research <a href="https://www.propertyobserver.com.au/https://www.iza.org/publications/dp/11070" target="_blank">published in 2017</a> by myself, Sarah Dahmann, Nicolas Salamanc and Anna Zhu. The importance of family structure is underlined by the fact young adults are more likely to receive a range of welfare payments if they grow up in single-parent families.
The following graph shows the results of our research.
Overall, we found young Australians aged 18-26 were 1.8 times more likely to receive welfare if their parents ever received welfare. That is, 58% of young people whose parents ever received welfare were also on welfare, compared with 31.8% of those whose parent were not.
Young people whose parents received unemployment payments while they were growing up were 1.6 times more likely to receive unemployment payments before age 22, and 1.3 times after age 22.
Intergenerational disability
But the strongest relationship in intergenerational disadvantage involves parental disability.
Our results showed young people whose parents received disability support payments were 2.8 times more likely to receive disability support payments.
Young people whose parents received the Disability Support Pension for mental health reasons were almost three times as likely to be receiving the mental health-related disability benefits as other young people. They were also more likely to need other social assistance payments
The intergenerational relationship between youth unemployment and parental disability, for example, and was just as strong as that with parental unemployment.
These findings do not imply that poor children would have been better off had their parents not received social assistance — only that poor children are more likely to need assistance than non-poor children.
Stretching the rungs
Social mobility is higher in Australia than many other developed countries (most notably the United States). But it remains lower than the Scandinavian countries, and is threatened by any increase in inequality.
A growing gap between richest and poorest grows pulls the the rungs of the socioeconomic ladder further apart, making it harder for disadvantaged Australian children to avoid becoming disadvantaged adults.<img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/123086/count.gif?distributor=republish-lightbox-basic" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" style="border: none !important; box-shadow: none !important; margin: 0 !important; max-height: 1px !important; max-width: 1px !important; min-height: 1px !important; min-width: 1px !important; opacity: 0 !important; outline: none !important; padding: 0 !important; text-shadow: none !important;">
Deborah Ann Cobb-Clark, Professor of Economics, University of Sydney. 
This article is republished from <a href="http://theconversation.com" target="_blank">The Conversation</a> under a Creative Commons license. Read the <a href="https://theconversation.com/disability-and-single-parenthood-still-loom-large-in-inherited-poverty-123086" target="_blank">original article</a>.
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Disability and single parenthood still loom large in inherited poverty: Deborah Cobb-Clark

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GUEST OBSERVATION
The poorer people are, the <a href="https://apps.who.int/iris/bitstream/handle/10665/44289/9789241563970_eng.pdf?sequence=1" target="_blank">higher their chances</a> of contending with domestic violence, crime, social conflict, homelessness and unemployment.
All these factors contribute to increased levels of psychological distress, which is associated with common mental disorders such as depression and anxiety.
In <a href="https://www.propertyobserver.com.au/https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/abs/10.1177/0004867415615948" target="_blank">our research</a>, of adults who recorded “very high” levels of psychological distress on what’s called the Kessler Psychological Distress Scale, more than three times as many (30%) came from the most socioeconomically disadvantaged fifth of Australian areas than from the most affluent fifth (9%).
Along with where you live, personal income is an important influence: among the poorest fifth of Australians, one in four people reported “high” or “very high” psychological distress when compared to about <a href="https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fpsyt.2018.00536/full" target="_blank">one in 20 people in the richest fifth</a>.
To begin to tackle this problem, we need to see more equitable distribution of mental health care; that is, delivery of care proportionate to need. As it currently stands, socioeconomically disadvantaged groups very often <a href="https://theconversation.com/three-charts-on-why-rates-of-mental-illness-arent-going-down-despite-higher-spending-97534" target="_blank">do not get optimal mental health care</a>.
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<img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/282184/original/file-20190702-28321-1bgx6ot.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&amp;q=45&amp;auto=format&amp;w=754&amp;fit=clip" alt="">
<a class="source" href="https://theconversation.com/three-charts-on-why-rates-of-mental-illness-arent-going-down-despite-higher-spending-97534" target="_blank">This chart first appeared in an article published on The Conversation in 2018.</a>, <a class="license" href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nd/4.0/" target="_blank">CC BY-ND</a>
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The <a href="https://rcvmhs.vic.gov.au" target="_blank">Royal Commission into Victoria’s Mental Health System</a> has begun its public hearings this week in Melbourne. Hopefully, it will provoke improved collaboration between state and Commonwealth services, enabling better access to mental health services for those who need it most.
Socioeconomic disadvantage affects mental health from birth
Unintended pregnancy, being younger, experiencing intimate partner violence and having insufficient emotional and practical support <a href="https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3302553/pdf/BLT.11.091850.pdf" target="_blank">can lead to mental disorders</a>, including depression, among pregnant women and new mothers.
Babies of depressed mothers are <a href="https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3150769/pdf/BLT.11.088187.pdf" target="_blank">often underweight</a>, a <a href="https://www.propertyobserver.com.au/https://jamanetwork.com/journals/jamapsychiatry/fullarticle/2722846" target="_blank">risk factor for later depression</a>.
One study showed the mental health of four-year-old children is affected by factors including <a href="https://journals.plos.org/plosone/article?id=10.1371/journal.pone.0187974" target="_blank">family income, maternal education and neighbourhood disadvantage</a>. The researchers followed children in this study until the age of 14 to 15 and found the effects persisted.
Children from low socioeconomic backgrounds are also more likely to do poorly in school, and <a href="https://www.cambridge.org/core/journals/psychological-medicine/article/relationship-between-exclusion-from-school-and-mental-health-a-secondary-analysis-of-the-british-child-and-adolescent-mental-health-surveys-2004-and-2007/C01898F768A7C47FB9A1F2F894B22A85">are more likely to be suspended or expelled</a>.
Financial difficulties have been highlighted as <a href="https://core.ac.uk/download/pdf/74395807.pdf" target="_blank">an important determinant of mental health for university students</a>, too.
Adults with interpersonal, employment or financial stresses experience <a href="https://www.annualreviews.org/doi/full/10.1146/annurev-publhealth-031210-101146" target="_blank">higher levels of psychological distress</a>.
Job loss is associated with mental health problems, and this association becomes more pronounced <a href="https://www.annualreviews.org/doi/full/10.1146/annurev-publhealth-031210-101146" target="_blank">with long-term unemployment</a>.
Those on welfare support have a <a href="https://jech.bmj.com/content/71/12/1198.long" target="_blank">higher risk of mental disorders</a>.
Poor people can’t access the best treatment
People in countries with <a href="https://www.equalitytrust.org.uk/resources/the-spirit-level" target="_blank">greater socioeconomic inequality</a> are more likely to have poor mental health than people in more equal societies. Australia is a high-income country, but there remains <a href="https://www.acoss.org.au/inequality/" target="_blank">a significant gap</a> between the richest in our society and the poorest.
Many health, educational, transport, housing, welfare and fiscal policy shifts could improve mental health in communities by addressing socioeconomic disadvantage and its impacts across the lifespan.
But while this issue persists, we need to look at what people from disadvantaged groups with mental illness are getting by way of treatment.
Most commonly, people with depression and other mental disorders will be prescribed medications, and/or receive “talking therapies” which might include sessions with a psychologist or other mental health professionals.
Importantly, evidence suggests antidepressants alone are <a href="https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10.1002/wps.20089" target="_blank">less likely to be effective</a> than a combination of antidepressants and cognitive behavioural therapy. So where antidepressant medication is recommended, <a href="https://www.thelancet.com/commissions/global-mental-health" target="_blank">psychological therapies should be available too</a>.
But as we know, many Australians with common mental disorders such as depression live in areas of socioeconomic disadvantage. Here, despite the greater need, <a href="https://theconversation.com/three-charts-on-why-rates-of-mental-illness-arent-going-down-despite-higher-spending-97534" target="_blank">fewer psychological treatment services are delivered</a>. Location of therapists and out-of-pocket costs can both act as barriers to accessing these services.
Ultimately, while poor people generally need mental health services more, rich people tend to access them at a much higher rate. So poorer people often receive only antidepressants, and alone, these may have only a modest effect, <a href="https://www.propertyobserver.com.au/https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/full/10.1177/0004867419857821?url_ver=Z39.88-2003&amp;rfr_id=ori:rid:crossref.org&amp;rfr_dat=cr_pub%3dpubmed" target="_blank">placing them on the back foot in terms of their recovery</a>.
Much of this care provision rests with Commonwealth Medicare-funded services. State services, meanwhile, struggle to respond to needs left unmet.
The Commonwealth and the states must work together
Although spending on mental health has increased in recent years, so too has the system’s complexity and fragmentation. Delivering equitable mental health care for Australians is complicated by the federal structure and divisions of responsibilities.
For private provider services, there is a need for incentive structures that secure the delivery of free or lower-cost services for the people and in the places where there is greatest need.
The Victorian royal commission into mental health is asking about <a href="https://rcvmhs.vic.gov.au/submissions" target="_blank">drivers of poor community mental health</a>, and flagging the importance of community and economic participation in improving mental health.
Within state mental health policy, funding models should ensure that while all communities get a decent level of mental health care, there is more service availability in areas and communities we know have higher rates of mental health problems.
We’d also be well-served by adopting newer strategies to facilitate access. For example, some people in difficult circumstances may nevertheless have broadband internet sufficient for video links. Getting psychological therapies into people’s homes through this route may be one way around other access problems.
The Victorian royal commission should propose making state funding distribution fairer, but cannot fix these problems alone.
In a recent positive step, the Commonwealth and state governments have <a href="https://www.health.gov.au/internet/main/publishing.nsf/Content/mental-fifth-national-mental-health-plan" target="_blank">signed up</a> to a <a href="https://www.health.gov.au/internet/main/publishing.nsf/Content/mental-health-intergrated-reg-planning" target="_blank">set of tasks aiming to move towards</a> better integrated mental health care planning.
The challenge for governments now is to cooperate with and support mental health service providers to ensure these services are better connected with each other, and importantly, more fairly and consistently delivered in relation to need.

Graham Meadows, Professor of Adult Psychiatry, Monash University
Anthony Cichello, Clinical Psychologist, Melbourne, and Adjunct Research Fellow, Monash University 
Anton Neville Isaacs, Senior Lecturer, Monash School of Rural Health, Monash University
Frances Shawyer, Research Fellow, Monash University
This article is republished from <a href="http://theconversation.com" target="_blank">The Conversation</a> under a Creative Commons license. Read the <a href="https://theconversation.com/when-its-easier-to-get-meds-than-therapy-how-poverty-makes-it-hard-to-escape-mental-illness-114505" target="_blank">original article</a>.
Submissions for the Royal Commission into Victoria’s Mental Health System <a href="https://rcvmhs.vic.gov.au/submissions" target="_blank">are open</a> until July 5.
If this article has raised issues for you or you’re concerned about someone you know, call Lifeline on 13 11 14.<img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/114505/count.gif?distributor=republish-lightbox-basic" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1">
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How poverty makes it hard to escape mental illnes

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GUEST OBSERVATION
The poorer you are, the harder it is to participate in and contribute to society. My experience as a practising urban designer and my research in the area have led me to conclude that the way people’s surroundings are designed reflects and amplifies this profound injustice.
Busy and fast roads, for instance, encourage driving while at the same time deterring walking and other forms of street life, isolating people from their neighbours.
Physical activity, interacting with others, setting and meeting challenges, and experiencing nature are all essential to our well-being. But humans aren’t good at prioritising our needs. We often make decisions that deny us these and other essential experiences.
This is particularly the case in poorer communities where shared and public spaces – the settings for many of these essential activities – tend to be poorly maintained, mundane and utilitarian.
Indifference without invitation
In such generic or inappropriately designed places, indifference or avoidance becomes more likely. Faced with the lukewarm appeal of these places, and sometimes active deterrence, people are more likely to be seduced by “easier”, but not needs-fulfilling, ways to spend their time. They may choose to drive rather than walk, or play on screens rather than in the open with others.
<img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/234381/original/file-20180831-195307-zh6xqv.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&amp;q=45&amp;auto=format&amp;w=754&amp;fit=clip" alt="">
Places like this offer little invitation to walk, play or exercise. Jenny Donovan, Author provided
If these people are to escape the call of the TV and computer, the “heavy lifting” will need to come from personal motivation to fill the gap left by the paucity of invitation from their surroundings.
In such places, if someone does choose to walk, cycle or play or participate in any of the activities that support health and well-being, they are doing so because they are determined to, rather than because their surroundings offer the pulling power to motivate them.
<img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/234382/original/file-20180831-195325-hw994i.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&amp;q=45&amp;auto=format&amp;w=754&amp;fit=clip" alt="">
Making the same street friendlier makes meeting needs easier and, for some people, possible. Jenny Donovan, Author provided
Many people do somehow overcome even the most difficult circumstances and thrive. But many others find this prohibitively difficult or are unaware of the need to make different choices. Their surroundings lead them to inadequate physical activity, isolate them from others, limit potential to find like-minded people around which community can coalesce, offer little enjoyment of nature and few opportunities to set and meet self-determined challenges.
We can see the effects of these issues through increased rates of obesity, loneliness and many diseases that diminish people’s quality of life.
<img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/234376/original/file-20180831-195328-11vjsbb.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&amp;q=45&amp;auto=format&amp;w=754&amp;fit=clip" alt="">
A conducive environment helps people meet their needs, thrive and fulfil their potential. Jenny Donovan, Author provided
Repeated over a neighbourhood or a city and concentrated in poorer areas, this can create arbitrary barriers that make winners and losers of their inhabitants. Extended over many years, these effects create huge social and health costs and can lock people into disadvantage.
These places deny people the inspiration of the crowd. If you rarely see someone else play on the street, run or cycle, you are less likely to consider it among the choices open to you.
Beyond the suburb
Disadvantaged communities lack the ability to influence the design process, make positive change happen themselves or protect what they value. Research has found people in communities with low socioeconomic status get left out of the decision-making process. When they do receive attention it is not as wholehearted or appropriately applied as it would be for wealthier communities.
We wear our surroundings like a cloak. Poor physical and social conditions often reflect poorly on their inhabitants, contributing to lower expectations of those people. This soft prejudice even means they are less likely to be considered for jobs that don’t match perceptions of what people from that postcode are like.
People with less buying power end up in less supportive environments, priced out of more nurturing places. Poorer people are getting pushed out of former working-class inner-city neighbourhoods that attract people and investment. This leaves less attractive places as the realm of concentrated poverty.
So, what can we do about it?
The obvious answer is to invest in design and the design process. But this is only part of the solution.
We need to reassess what good urban design is. Good design will need to be inexpensive to avoid lumbering communities with debt and ensure it can be spread widely. It needs to be tailored to provide the right invitations to those who most need it. It gives greater weight to designing for the social landscape of the community, and less to the aesthetic values of the designer and client.
Good design enables those who are being designed-for to participate in the design and creation of their surroundings wherever possible. This allows them the experience of developing and realising change, taking responsibility and exercising self-determination.
This takes time. The emotional capital this process demands of the designer and the community are immensely powerful but volatile resources. The designs that arise may not immediately be recognised by many designers as good design.
But if our present approach leaves people isolated and uninspired to do the things they need to do to thrive, we must reassess what good design really is and see it not as a luxury but as a right.<img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/98561/count.gif?distributor=republish-lightbox-basic" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" style="border: none !important; box-shadow: none !important; margin: 0 !important; max-height: 1px !important; max-width: 1px !important; min-height: 1px !important; min-width: 1px !important; opacity: 0 !important; outline: none !important; padding: 0 !important; text-shadow: none !important;">
Jenny Donovan, Urban Designer and Sessional Lecturer, La Trobe University
This article was originally published on <a href="http://theconversation.com" target="_blank">The Conversation</a>. Read the <a href="https://theconversation.com/our-urban-environment-doesnt-only-reflect-poverty-it-amplifies-it-98561" target="_blank">original article</a>.
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Our urban environment doesn’t only reflect poverty, it amplifies it: Jenny Donovan

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GUEST OBSERVER
Despite a long history of research into poverty, no consensus yet exists on what constitutes being “poor” or “disadvantaged”. Measures of household wealth don’t go far enough in identifying those most at risk of being excluded from society. Nor do such measures explain the level of exclusion they face.
Significant numbers of people are at risk, however. Our research suggests that more than one in two people with a disability or long-term health condition and nearly half of people aged 65 and above experienced social exclusion in 2012.
A better way to measure poverty?
Monitoring changes in the prevalence and characteristics of poverty is crucial to keeping track of whether a society is really successful in tackling this problem. Traditional measurements have too narrowly focused on incomes and whether households can afford a minimum acceptable standard of living.
Broader concepts have emerged more recently. These recognise that socioeconomic disadvantage is much more complex. One more useful method is the concept of “social exclusion”.
The measure, which first emerged in Europe, encompasses not only income and other economic resources, but also dimensions of disadvantage – such as health and education – that determine individuals' ability to participate fully in society.
The <a href="https://www.bsl.org.au/research-and-publications/social-exclusion-monitor/" target="_blank">Social Exclusion Monitor</a>, developed by the Brotherhood of St Laurence and the University of Melbourne, has proven useful in Australia to measure the extent and evolution of a wider notion of poverty and disadvantage.
In contrast with income-based poverty measures, the monitor measures the accumulation of deprivation across seven life domains: material resources, employment, education and skills, health and disability, social connection, community and personal safety.
Considering a total of 29 indicators across these domains, it uses data from the national Household, Income and Labour Dynamics in Australia (<a href="https://www.melbourneinstitute.com/hilda/" target="_blank">HILDA</a>) survey. Since 2001, this survey has annually collected detailed socioeconomic data for a nationally representative sample of the population. This allows the monitor to study social exclusion since the beginning of the 21st century.
The latest issue of the Social Exclusion Monitor bulletin provides revealing insights into the nature and characteristics of disadvantage.
For 2012, the most recent wave of HILDA data, around 25% of Australians aged 15 years or above experienced some level of social exclusion: 20% were marginally excluded, 5% deeply excluded and almost 1% very deeply excluded.
This means that about 825,000 Australians experienced deep exclusion and more than 150,000 people were very deeply excluded.
 
<a href="/images/2015/07/23/image-20150721-24261-1kp0r3v.jpeg" target="_blank">Click to enlarge</a>
<img src="/images/2015/07/23/image-20150721-24261-1kp0r3v.jpeg" alt=""> 
Social exclusion worse for some
The monitor also provides valuable insights into trends over time. Overall, the impact of the 2008 global financial crisis was more limited in Australia than in many countries, but it marked a turning point in terms of social exclusion.
From 2001, the prevalence of exclusion steadily declined to reach a low point for the period in 2008. The decline in unemployment and the rate of jobless households, measured by the monitor’s employment domain as well as the fall in the proportion of people with a low level of education, contributed to the reduction in the number of excluded.
However, following the global financial crisis, the prevalence of marginal exclusion started to grow. It has remained above pre-crisis levels since then.
The Social Exclusion Monitor bulletin shows the risk of social exclusion is not the same for everybody. The demographic groups most likely to experience exclusion are people aged 65 and above – almost half experienced it in 2012 – and people with long-term health conditions or a disability – more than half experienced it.
The risk of exclusion also varies with the level of education. The prevalence of social exclusion among those with less than Year 12 is more than 2.5 times higher than among those with more education.
The type of households individuals live in also influences the risk of exclusion. Single parents and people living alone experience exclusion at higher rates than other families. Public housing tenants have higher rates of exclusion than those in other forms of housing.
There is also a gender gap. Women are more excluded than men in all age groups, overall by more than five percentage points. The difference is larger among people aged over 55.
The most prevalent indicators of exclusion are low education, long-term health conditions or disabilities and low wealth – each is experienced by at least 20% of people. These are the key to understanding social exclusion in Australia.
The sources of exclusion do vary over the life cycle, however. Education and employment are the main drivers of exclusion for those under 25, accounting for more than half of the exclusion of this age group. In contrast, economic resources, health and community engagement make the largest contribution to the exclusion of people aged 65 and above.
Unsurprisingly, some socioeconomic groups are more likely to experience persistent social exclusion than others. Analysis of the longitudinal information in the HILDA survey shows that older Australians, people living in highly disadvantaged areas as measured by the Socioeconomic Indexes for Areas, long-term unemployed and households with members who are jobless or have a disability are more likely to experience persistent exclusion.
The reason is twofold. People in these groups are both less likely to move out of poverty and, if they have managed to improve their circumstances, more likely to fall back into it.
This data reveals few surprises. The findings tell a familiar and consistent story about who is and isn’t excluded in Australia. However, the analysis of the sources of exclusion at different points in the life cycle and the findings in relation to persistent exclusion are especially important for developing polices to reduce social exclusion.
These findings underline the need to focus our policies and services on the places and groups where social exclusion is concentrated. We need to redouble our efforts to keep young people in education while also assisting them, and the long-term jobless, to find and retain employment.
We must ensure that older people with chronic health conditions and those with a disability are able to participate in the community while also addressing their health needs.
And if we were really smart we would invest in early intervention among these groups to prevent persistent social exclusion.
 
Francisco Azipitarte is Ronald Henderson research fellow, University of Melbourne and can be contacted <a href="https://theconversation.com/profiles/francisco-azipitarte-92300" target="_blank">here</a>.
Shelley Mallett is professorial fellow at the University of Melbourne and can be contacted <a href="https://theconversation.com/profiles/shelley-mallett-129018" target="_blank">here</a>.
Both are authors published in The Conversation.
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