Australia’s life dissatisfaction levels double as ‘wellbeing poverty’ reaches new highs
Nearly 2.2 million Australians aged 15 and over are living below the wellbeing poverty line, with the share reporting very low life satisfaction doubling in the past decade, according to the Australian Bureau of Statistics.
An analysis of the Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS) General Social Survey by Guardian Australia reveals that in 2025, 9.7% of Australians—about one in ten—rated their overall life satisfaction at four or below out of ten. This compares with 4.8% (one in twenty) in 2014.
The initial surge in dissatisfaction occurred during the 2020 COVID-19 lockdowns and has persisted amid soaring living costs. The ABS data echoes other surveys, such as Westpac’s consumer confidence index, which has remained near 50-year lows since the pandemic.
Those reporting very low life satisfaction are more likely to feel alienated and disempowered in their communities and express lower support for multiculturalism. Only 15% of people in wellbeing poverty feel they have a say on important community matters, versus the Australian average of 32%. Among those with the highest life satisfaction (9 or 10 out of 10), that figure rises to 46%.
Just over 60% of those with the lowest life satisfaction agree that a society composed of different cultures is a good thing, far below the overall Australian average of 80% and nearly 90% among the most satisfied.
National living standards, measured by inflation-adjusted household disposable income per household, remain at mid-2020 levels. Analysts expect the economy to slip back into a per capita recession amid stagflation—low growth and high inflation.
Shane Oliver, AMP’s chief economist, noted that lower-income households have been hit hardest by rising costs for essentials like electricity, insurance, and healthcare. “Consumer confidence seems chronically stuck at recessionary levels,” he said. Oliver also pointed to research on happiness economics, which shows that life satisfaction does not increase with material wealth beyond a certain middle-income threshold. He linked the recent decline in satisfaction to unmet expectations, particularly regarding home ownership.
Anthea Hancocks, CEO of the Scanlon Foundation Research Institute, said economic circumstances greatly affect social cohesion by impacting self-worth. She also highlighted social media’s “huge impact” on Australians’ lives and perceptions. Despite these trends, the Scanlon social cohesion index has held steady at 78 over the past three years, though down from a peak of 92 in 2021.
Hancocks stressed that connecting people to their neighbors and communities is key to boosting life satisfaction. “Regardless of your economic circumstances, if you live in a highly cohesive neighborhood, your level of happiness doubles,” she said.
