We’re often told that work is the best way out of poverty. But for too many women, that promise doesn’t hold up.
This year’s Cost of Living Index from Anglicare Australia paints a bleak picture of what it’s like to raise a child on the minimum wage. We modelled the living costs of different kinds of working households – including single parents working full-time. Most of these households are headed up by women.
The result? Even after earning a full-time wage and receiving every government payment available, a single mother is left with just one dollar each week after covering basic expenses.
That figure doesn’t just speak for itself. It shouts.
It tells us that for some women, working full-time doesn’t offer stability, opportunity, or a way forward. Instead, it locks them into survival mode. The system is expecting them to do the impossible: pay for rent, transport, food, and childcare on a wage that no longer covers the basics.
At the heart of this problem is the fact that Australia’s care systems are still failing women – especially women raising children alone. Most single-parent households are led by women. That means the failures of our childcare system fall hardest on mothers. They are forced to patch together short-term solutions, scale back their hours, or rely on family members to help. Those without support, or without flexible work, are left to fall through the cracks.
We have known this for years. But our Cost of Living Index puts it in black and white. It shows that no matter how hard women work, the numbers simply don’t add up.
There is no silver bullet for poverty. But universal childcare would certainly help.
Universal access would mean that no parentis forced to choose between earning a wage and caring for their child. It would mean stable, predictable support instead of complex subsidy arrangements and means-testing that fluctuate with hours worked and incomes earned. And it would give children, especially those from disadvantaged backgrounds, the strong start in life that every parent wants.
We know the Government is talking about the next steps on childcare. That’s something to celebrate. It has already made early education more affordable and boosted wages for childcare workers. These are real achievements, and Anglicare Australia welcomes them. Now we’re waiting for next steps that are bigger and bolder.
We see the impacts of unaffordable care every day in our services. We support mothers who are forced to miss work or give up jobs altogether. We help women who can’t accept promotions or extra hours, knowing it will mean losing subsidies or being pushed into a higher childcare bracket. And we meet parents who are one illness, one shift cancellation, or one broken-down car away from financial crisis.
This isn’t what opportunity should look like. And it’s not the future that most Australians want for the women in their lives.
Now is the time for a universal system that is affordable for everyone, and works in the real world – not just on paper. Because when the system works for single mothers, it works for everyone. It means better support for all children, fairer opportunities for all women, and a more resilient economy overall.
The Cost of Living Index shows us how urgently we need this change. If we want to close the gap between the work women do and the dignity they deserve, there’s no better place to start.
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