Budget standards: a new healthy living minimum income standard for low-paid and unemployed Australians

This project built on previous Australian and recent international research to develop a set of budget standards for low-paid and unemployed Australians and their families.  

The family types included are: 

• a single person (male and female) 
• couples without children
• couples with one and two children 
• a sole parent with one child. 

The approach incorporated existing community norms, expert judgments and relevant evidence from social surveys. It emphasised the views expressed by low-paid and unemployed individuals in focus groups to ensure that the standards are grounded in everyday experience and reflect actual needs.  

The results were also used to inform debate and guide decisions about the adequacy of minimum wages and income support payments for the unemployed required to support healthy living consistent with individual needs, family needs and prevailing community standards.