TODAY: Anti-Poverty Week event with Central Land Council and Single Mother Families Australia to highlight overlooked welfare issues
The Antipoverty Centre is hosting an online event at 3:30pm AEDT today featuring the Central Land Council and Single Mother Families Australia to highlight issues compounding poverty that do not get the attention they need or are not well understood. The event is open to media and the public and each topic will include a Q&A. Community sector workers in particular are encouraged to attend.
WHEN: Tuesday 13 October, 3:30pm AEDT / 3pm ACDT / 2:30pm AEST / 2pm ACST / 12:30pm AWST
WHERE: online webinar, registration required via humanitix to receive the zoom link: https://events.humanitix.com/compounding-poverty
Key discussion topics:
- Changes needed to the remote area allowance, a $9 a week supplement payment for people living in remote areas.
- Challenging debts and accessing debt waivers for Centrelink payments and child support-related FTB debts.
- Unlawful Centrelink payment cancellations and how people with “mutual” obligations can assert their rights.
The event will be facilitated by Anti-Poverty Week National Co-Chair and Chair of the Accountable Income Management Network Simon Schrapel AM.
Speakers:
- General Manager Dr Josie Douglas with elected delegates Maryanne Malbunka and Roxanne Kenny from the Central Land Council.
- CEO Terese Edwards from Single Mother Families Australia.
- Co-coordinators Jay Coonan and Kristin O’Connell from the Antipoverty Centre.
Speakers are available for interview upon request. We are able to connect journalists with welfare recipients who are willing to share their views with media for Anti-Poverty Week.
Media contact: 0489 181 230 / media at antipovertycentre.org
Dr Josie Douglas, Central Land Council General Manager said:
Raising the remote area allowance is one compassionate and practical thing politicians can do right now to relieve the extreme cost of living crisis faced by the poorest Australians out bush. The allowance clearly hasn’t kept up with the skyrocketing prices in remote communities for a long time, but people are now at breaking point. We implore anyone who believes in a fair go to support a meaningful
increase
Download the Central Land Council RAA policy brief:
Jay Coonan, Antipoverty Centre Co-coordinator said:
Privatised “job” agencies are designed to deprive people of their rights. People are told that if they do not comply, they will have their Centrelink payment stopped. A rights guide won’t fix the root issue, but it is tool people can use to defend themselves from these parasitic companies who manage the poor. Whether it’s pushing back against being forced into a useless AI course, or being told to travel an hour by train for a 10 minute interrogation – we created the rights guide to help people understand what is and isn’t compulsory and avoid unfair and unlawful penalties.
Request a copy of the new Antipoverty Centre “mutual” obligations rights guide here:
Background and key statistics
Anti-Poverty Week 2026 runs from 11 to 17 October. The Antipoverty Centre has prepared a backgrounder for journalists containing key statistics to assist with media coverage.
- Currently, the main unemployment payment is $412 a week – 40% below the poverty line.
- More than 1 million people rely on unemployment payments, around 40% of whom are disabled.
- 20% of people on the JobSeeker payment is employed, subjected to an effective marginal tax rate of 75% for every dollar of gross income above $128 a week.
- People on the two main working age payments (JobSeeker and DSP) make up around a third of all suicide deaths among working age adults. People on JobSeeker represent 20% of all suicide deaths among those aged 15 to 66 years old.
- 167,000 people on income support aged between 22 to 64 years old died between 2012 and 2022 – 58.2% of all deaths for people in this age group. Those on JobSeeker aged 35 to 44 are 9.6 times more likely to die than their peers.