ACOSS is calling on the Reserve Bank of Australia to cut interest rates tomorrow and over the remainder of this year to prevent rises in unemployment and deliver relief to people with the least.
"Inflation is now firmly within the RBA's target range so there is no justification for maintaining interest rates at punishingly high levels," ACOSS CEO Dr Cassandra Goldie said.
"People on low and modest incomes continue to suffer from the impact of high interest rates, and continued inaction will just risk deepening the crisis. A series of interest rate cuts is critical to sustain job growth, which is faltering, and reduce unemployment."
Dr Goldie said if this week's labour market data reveals a further rise in unemployment, it would clearly demonstrate the harmful impacts of the consistently high interest rates.
"Low unemployment should be celebrated and protected, not feared," Dr Goldie said.
"Without immediate and sustained interest rate cuts, more households will be pushed into severe financial hardship. People with the least are bearing the brunt of the impact.
"We should be supporting job creation and opening up opportunities for people locked out of employment, not deliberately increasing employment to curb inflation. Since interest rates began to rise in 2022, 150,000 more people are without paid work."
Interest rate cuts alone are not enough to resolve the ongoing living standards crisis faced by many people across Australia.
"Rate cuts are not the sole solution, but they are a crucial first step in preventing further economic deterioration," Dr Goldie said.
"The government must step up and provide immediate relief, with an increase to JobSeeker and other social security payments to a liveable level.
"There must also be increased investment in social housing and energy efficiency programs for low to middle income households to bring down energy bills."
