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Nearly ۲.۲ million Australians ۱۵ years and older are living below the wellbeing poverty line, with the share of people reporting very low life satisfaction doubling over the past decade.
In ۲۰۲۵, ۹.۷%, or about one in ۱۰ Australians, rated their general satisfaction with life at four or below out of ۱۰, according to Guardian Australia’s analysis of the Australian Bureau of Statistics’s (ABS) general social survey.
That compares with one in ۲۰, or ۴.۸%, reporting very low overall life satisfaction in ۲۰۱۴.
The initial surge of Australians reporting dissatisfaction with their lives came during ۲۰۲۰’s Covid lockdowns and has persisted over the intervening years amid soaring cost of living.
The ABS data echoes other surveys, such as Westpac’s consumer confidence index, which has languished at around ۵۰-year lows since failing to recover from the pandemic blow.
Amid an explosion of support for far-right and populist politics, those reporting life satisfaction scores of four or below are more likely to feel alienated and disempowered in their community, and express lower support for multiculturalism, the ABS figures show.
Only ۱۵% of people experiencing wellbeing poverty feel they have a say on important matters affecting their communities, against the average of ۳۲% across all Australians. The proportion of people who feel they have a voice in their community increases to a high of ۴۶% among those reporting overall life satisfaction of nine or above.
As One Nation’s leader, Pauline Hanson, makes headlines with her advocacy for a “monocultural” society, the ABS data show just over ۶۰% of people who score in the lowest group on life satisfaction agree that it is a good thing for society to be composed of different cultures.
That share is far below the average of ۸۰% among Australians, and the approaching ۹۰% among those reporting the highest life satisfaction.
Stagnation and stagflation
National living standards, as measured by household disposable income per household adjusted for inflation, are at the same level as in mid-۲۰۲۰.
Nor is the outlook encouraging: analysts expect the national economy to drop back into a per capita recession amid a stagflationary backdrop of low growth and high inflation.
Shane Oliver, AMP’s chief economist, said lower-income households had been hit particularly hard by the huge rise in prices for essentials, such as electricity, insurance and health care.
“Consumer confidence seems to be chronically stuck around recessionary levels,” Oliver said.
Guardian Australia has previously reported research showing that wages for the highest paid workers over the past decade had grown at more than twice the pace of those earning the least.
Oliver also pointed to extensive literature on the economics of happiness that satisfaction with life does not track higher with material wealth past a certain middle-income threshold.
Oliver said it was likely that the recent plunge in life satisfaction related to thwarted hopes and unmet expectations – much of which he believes can be traced back to dwindling hopes of home ownership.
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“I suspect housing is the single biggest problem. If we managed that issue better, that would go a long way to addressing this issue,” he said.
Anthea Hancocks is the chief executive of the Scanlon Foundation Research Institute, an independent body that focuses on social cohesion.
“We know that people’s economic circumstances have a really big impact on their sense of social cohesion because it impacts their sense of self-worth,” Hancocks said.
“If you feel like nobody cares and you don’t really matter, then that would make you feel like you can’t trust other people or trust institutions. And that tends to lead to not participating in their community or talking to people, so it has a big effect,” she said.
Social media has had “a huge impact” on Australians’ lives and how they perceive the world and their place in it, she said.
Despite these undercurrents of dissatisfaction and growing financial pressures, Hancocks says social cohesion nationally has proved resilient over recent years.
Scanlon’s social cohesion index has stayed steady at ۷۸ over the past three years, although it remains considerably below the recent peak of ۹۲ in ۲۰۲۱.
Hancocks said connecting people to their neighbours and community was key to lifting life satisfaction.
“We know that regardless of your economic circumstances, whether you are struggling or you say you are prosperous, if you live in a highly cohesive neighbourhood, then your level of happiness doubles,” she said.
“That is where our strength comes from now, and most communities are actively doing things in this space.
“That won’t solve the problem, but building that trust is an essential component. Building national pride simply in being Australian – all of those things will help and can be the fundamental element to help people feel like someone has got their back.”
