Around one in eight (1.3 million) Australian households experienced food insecurity in 2023. This means they didn’t always have enough money to buy the amount or quality of food they needed for an active and healthy life.

The data, released on Friday by the Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS), show food insecurity is now a mainstream public health and equity challenge.

When funds are tight, food budgets suffer

The main driver of food insecurity in Australia is financial pressure.

Housing costs and energy bills expenses consume much of household income, leaving food as the most flexible part of the budget.

When money runs short, families cut back on groceries, buy cheaper but less nutritious food, skip meals, or rely on food charities.

These strategies come at the expense of nutrition, health and wellbeing.

Inflation has added further pressure. The cost of food has risen substantially over the past two years, with groceries for a family of four costing around $1,000 per fortnight.

Who is most affected?

Not all households are affected equally. Single parents face the highest rates of food insecurity, with one in three (34%) struggling to afford enough food.

Families with children are more vulnerable (16%) than those without (8%).

Group households, often made up of students or young workers, are also heavily affected at 28%.

Rates are even higher for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander households, where 41% report food insecurity.

Income remains a defining factor. Nearly one in four (23.2% of) households in the lowest income bracket experience food insecurity, compared with just 3.6% in the highest.

These headline numbers are only part of the story. Past research shows higher risks of food insecurity for some other groups:

• rural and remote communities face higher food prices and limited outlets. Some areas are becoming “food deserts” where affordable, nutritious food simply isn’t available
• university students and young adults juggle unstable work and housing costs while studying
• temporary residents are often excluded from available supports
• culturally and linguistically diverse households can struggle to access affordable, culturally appropriate food.

While the ABS survey can not provide local breakdowns, it will also be important to know which states and territories have higher rates of food insecurity, to better inform state-level responses.

What are the impacts?

Food insecurity is both a symptom and a cause of poor health.

It leads to poorer quality diets, as households cut back on fruit, vegetables and protein-rich foods that spoil quickly. Instead, they may rely on processed items that are cheaper, more filling and keep for longer.

The ongoing stress of worrying about not having enough food takes a toll on mental health and increases social isolation.

Together these pressures increase the risk of chronic diseases including diabetes, heart disease and some cancers.

For children, not having enough food affects concentration, learning and long-term development.

Breaking this cycle means recognising that improving health depends on improving food security. Left unaddressed, food insecurity deepens existing inequalities across generations.

What can we do about it?

We already know the solutions to food insecurity and they are evidence-based.

Strengthening income support by increasing the amount of JobSeeker and other government payments is crucial. This would ensure households have enough money to cover food alongside other essentials.

Investment in universal school meals, such as free lunch programs, can guarantee children at least one nutritious meal a day.

Policies that make healthy food more affordable and available in disadvantaged areas are also important, whether through subsidies, price regulation, or support for local retailers.

Community-based approaches, such as food co-operatives where members share bulk-buying power and social supermarkets that sell donated or surplus food at low cost can help people buy cheaper food. However, they cannot be a substitute for systemic reform.

Finally, ongoing monitoring of food insecurity must be embedded in national health and social policy frameworks so we can track progress over time. The last ABS data on food insecurity was collected ten years ago, and we cannot wait another decade to understand how Australians are faring.

The National Food Security Strategy is being developed by the Department of Agriculture, Fisheries and Forestry with guidance from a new National Food Council. It provides an opportunity to align these actions, set measurable targets and ensure food security is addressed at a national scale.

Food insecurity is widespread and shaped by disadvantage, with serious health consequences. The question is no longer whether food insecurity exists, but whether Australia will act on the solutions.

Katherine Kent, Senior Lecturer in Nutrition and Dietetics, University of Wollongong

This article is republished from The Conversation under a Creative Commons license. Read the original article.

Vibhu Arya, University of Technology Sydney; Renu Agarwal, University of Technology Sydney, and Wen Helena Li, University of Technology Sydney

Every day, when Australians tap their card at a cafe checkout or hit pay on an online order, there’s often an unpredictable, frustrating extra cost: the card surcharge.

Australians pay more than $1.2 billion every year in card surcharges, with 88% of our payments still made using cards.

That high cost is why the Reserve Bank is working on how to reduce card surcharges. A final decision is due later this year.

Yet if you visit many parts of Asia, Africa or South America, you’ll discover there are cheaper alternatives to paying by card – saving money for shoppers and businesses.

Global growth in real-time payments

Real-time payments, sometimes also known as instant or fast payments, move money between bank accounts instantly. It’s often as simple as scanning a QR code, or using a mobile number or email.

For example, you place a coffee order – but instead of tapping a bank card, you use your phone to scan a QR code at the counter to pay.

Crucially for the cafe, the money lands instantly into their account. In contrast, tap to pay cards funds usually land in a business’s account a day or two later.

In countries as diverse as India, Brazil, China, Malaysia, Thailand, Indonesia, Nigeria, Bangladesh and advanced economies such as Hong Kong and Singapore, real-time payments for everyday purchases are already common.

For consumers, it’s fee-free. And particularly for small businesses, it’s much cheaper than cards.

The reason it’s cheaper is simple: there are no intermediaries taking a share of fees, with the money moving directly between two bank accounts.

How it’s done worldwide

In India, the most popular way to pay is UPI, with more than 600 million real-time transactions a day.

In China, the most popular ways to pay are Alipay and Wechat wallets, which run on QR codes linked to the user’s bank accounts. But the underlying infrastructure is via real-time payments. China has more than 1 billion real-time transactions a day.

In Brazil, the most popular way to pay is PIX, with more than 75 million transactions a day. It’s free for consumers – and up to ten times cheaper for businesses than cards.

In Singapore, PayNow remains a popular way to pay, free for both consumers and businesses.

Yet in other countries, including Australia, New Zealand, the United States and United Kingdom, card payments still dominate.

Can Australians make real-time payments now?

Yes – but we’re doing it far less than we could.

You can make instant transfers through PayID and pre-approved debits via PayTo.

PayID works by letting you use your mobile number, email address, Australian Business Number (ABN) or organisation identifier to receive fast payments to your bank account. You can have multiple PayIDs, each linked to a different account.

PayTo is different. It works via one-time authorisation, where the consumer allows a business to draw from their account, up to a certain amount and time period. Think of it as real-time payments for recurring payments, such as Spotify, Netflix or gym memberships.

Australia has more than 27 million registered PayIDs, with more than 5 million daily transactions.

How to save Australians millions a year

With PayID and PayTo, money lands in a business’s account instantly. The cost is tiny, projected to fall to four cents a transaction by this year.

Every day, Australians make roughly 45 million card transactions. If even some of those transactions shifted to PayID or PayTo, small businesses could save millions in fees – and customers would be spared a big share of that $1.2 billion in card surcharges.

However, a 2025 Nielsen/Westpac survey found that while 99% of Australian business leaders recognised the need to move to real-time payments, only 25% had started that transition.

Why are real-time payments part of daily life in some countries, but not here? Preliminary research points to one factor above all: the central bank’s role. In Australia’s case, that would mean the Reserve Bank stepping in to do more.

Instead of spending so much time and resources on card surcharges, the Reserve Bank should do more to boost the use of real-time payments.

Are real-time payments riskier?

Real-time payment QR codes overseas are secure, and businesses do not see or retain the customer’s phone number or email.

Unlike card payments, there is no risk of losing your card or card numbers. A payment can only be made via scanning a QR code and authorising it.

Of course, risks remain. Whether using a card or a real-time payment, being aware of the risks of fraud or scammers remains important.

The Australian Banking Association has recommended more Australians use PayID to protect themselves from scams or mistaken payments.

Cutting costs for shoppers and business

Australian small businesses currently get a raw deal. The Reserve Bank says they’re often charged between 1-2% on every transaction, around three times what the big chains pay.

No wonder many end up adding surcharges to cover their costs.

We already have the tools to make real-time payments an option for everyday shopping. Unlike overseas, that option is still rarely offered at the checkout.

A faster, cheaper way to pay than with cards is possible. It’s time to use it.

Vibhu Arya, PhD Student, UTS Business School, University of Technology Sydney; Renu Agarwal, Professor, Strategy, Operations and Supply Chain Management, University of Technology Sydney, and Wen Helena Li, Senior Lecturer, UTS Business School, University of Technology Sydney

This article is republished from The Conversation under a Creative Commons license. Read the original article.