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Cost-of-living, housing affordability, and rent are the primary worries for Australia’s youth according to new research.
For more than half (54 per cent) of 18 to 25-year-olds surveyed by headspace in their National Youth Mental Health Survey, financial instability and cost of living was their primary concern, followed by housing affordability (42 per cent).
Approximately seven out of 10 survey respondents are worried about their ability to afford their own home, while a further 61 per cent said the cost of rent caused them great stress.
The research comes after CoreLogic’s Home Value Index (HVI) for March revealed an increase in national home prices for the first time in 10 months, which climbed 0.6 per cent, leading to a national median price of $704,723.
That price is nearly 10 times as much as the median Australian income.
Last month’s Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS) Consumer Price Index (CPI) revealed an inflation rate of 6.8 per cent in February. Meanwhile, rents recorded record price growth throughout 2022, according to CoreLogic.
As a result of the uncertainty and anxiety created by cost-of-living pressures in Australia’s youth, over half of the survey’s respondents shared their hesitancy at having children.
Headspace chief executive officer, Jason Trethowan explained, “Young people feel anxious [that] the rising cost of living is going to impact their ability to achieve major life milestones, like moving out of home or saving for a house.”
He declared that “young people should never have to worry about having a safe space to call home.”
Given financial security’s position as a “protective factor for good mental health”, the executive noted any “changes to a young person’s financial circumstances can place their mental health under stress.”
Mr Trethowan is calling on governments to introduce steps to “alleviate these pressures,” in order to ensure young Australians are afforded the “things they need to lead happy, healthy lives.”
“Together, we need to be finding ways to help young people feel optimistic about their futures,” he insisted.
Young Australians, such as Queensland university student Grace Sholl, admit increased financial pressures have resulted in them opting into extra work shifts at the behest of their education “because I need the income to get by.”
Ms Sholl implored struggling young Australians to talk to other people, whether it be family, friends, or a professional service, in times of turmoil, before calling on action from all levels of Australian society.
“It’s important governments and communities listen to young people when we say we’re doing it tough, and work together to explore ways the system can better support the mental health of young people,” she said.
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