Economic justice

Economic pressures, driven by global factors, are significantly impacting on the living costs of Australians and making living with economic dignity harder for many people.

Government expenditure should be better targeted to ensure the basic needs of Australians are better addressed, including by restructuring the taxation system and prioritising social programs.

In relation to this assessment:

• Recent human rights advances = where governments have positively advanced human rights
• Urgent human rights issues = where serious human rights concerns exist and are not being addressed sufficiently
• Other priority human rights issues = where further action is required to address known human rights challenges

Recent human rights advances

• Changes to funding and the operation of Medicare and the Pharmaceutical Benefits Scheme have improved access to health care and medicines.
• Higher education reforms have reduced HECS debts and made vocational training pathways more accessible.
• The Government has committed to an annual review of the adequacy of social security payments prior to the federal budget through the Economic Inclusion Advisory Committee. Recommendations of the Economic Inclusion Advisory Committee have not been acted upon and rates of social security remain too low.
  
• The Australian Government has made improved commitments to address climate change with a legislated goal to reduce emissions by 62–70% below 2005 levels by 2035, and to reach net zero by 2050.
• The Australian Government has developed the Measuring What Matters framework, to measure progress in achieving wellbeing for all Australians.
• The Australian Government has increased availability and affordability of childcare for children and their families.

Urgent human rights issues

• Too many people live in poverty in Australia, without clear national approaches to measure or address it. There is a need for a national plan to eradicate poverty, with robust measurement of poverty and targets.
• Too many people do not have adequate housing or are homeless. There is a pressing need for a national housing plan that addresses the human rights impacts, including by addressing affordability and availability as well as security of tenure for renters.
• The Australian taxation system favours high wealth individuals and investors, with a narrow tax base that limits funding to address broader social and economic inequalities across the community.
• Rates of social security remain too low and entrench poverty and recommendations of the Economic Inclusion Advisory Committee have not been acted upon.
  
• Climate change, extreme weather events and increased frequency and severity of natural disasters are creating major human rights challenges. Australia’s climate targets, while improved, are not sufficient to avoid major negative climate impacts on people’s lives in Australia and globally. Australia needs to accelerate its transition to renewables increasing the pace of phasing out of fossil fuels and fossil fuel subsidies. Australia needs to ensure a just transition for workers and communities affected by the shift from fossil fuels to renewables.

Other priority human rights issues

• Rural and regional communities experience inequality in access to education, health, mental health and housing and experience increased threats from climate change including more frequent and severe natural disasters.
• Social security programs need ongoing monitoring to ensure that they are not being applied in a punitive manner or that they disproportionately penalise people in marginalised situations.
  

Find out more

For information about the purpose and methodology of this assessment, please visit our Australian Human Rights Assessment 2026 page.