Today, ACOSS stood in solidarity with the Central Land Council to again urge the Albanese government to substantially increase the Remote Area Allowance. 

This supplementary payment is paid to people receiving income support in remote areas and has sat frozen for about 26 years at a pitiful $9.10 a week for a single person, or just $1.30 a day. This is while the cost of living in remote communities continues to skyrocket.

The Remote Area allowance is not indexed and provides a 1.5 to 2.6 per cent boost to base income support payments while remote prices average up to 40 per cent higher than those in urban areas.

Of the 95,000 people who receive the remote area allowance, 69 per cent are First Nations people and income poverty among First Nations people who live in remote areas is a shocking 57 per cent.

“We stand with the Central Land Council to call for a lift to the Remote Area Allowance because we are leaving remote communities to survive on a payment that hasn’t increased by a single dollar in more than a quarter of a century,” CEO of ACOSS Dr Cassandra Goldie said.

“People in remote areas face staggering costs for groceries, fuel and energy and they are being stretched to the absolute limit.

“Fuel prices in remote areas are far above that of the cities, and people need to drive long distances just to get essentials, or rely on diesel for electricity generation or both.

“When someone receiving JobSeeker gets just $417 a week, an extra $9.10 does nothing to bridge the price gap people in remote areas face for essentials.

“We urge the Federal Government to listen to the Central Land Council, members and representatives of which have travelled to Canberra to call on our leaders to do the right thing and substantially increase the Remote Area Allowance so that it reflects remote costs.

“The government must also commit to lifting the rate of Jobseeker and related payments so that people in remote areas can get by.”