Families living in Whittlesea are being urged to take part in an Australian-first study that looks at how they manage financial uncertainty.
The Brotherhood of St Laurence Spinning the Plates study investigates how those living in households with low and moderate incomes manage ups and downs in their fortnightly earnings, as well has how they deal with Centrelink payments due to fluctuating wages.
The study will focus on households from Whittlesea, Dandenong and Brimbank with earnings of less than $80,000 a year before tax.
The three suburbs were chosen because a 2008 survey found they had the highest percentage of residents experiencing financial stress in Victoria, and those who would be unable to handle unexpected bills.
Brotherhood of St Laurence research and policy centre senior research fellow Dr Marcus Banks said international studies showed people with volatile incomes faced financial risks trying to make ends meet.
He said little is known about the number of Australian households with incomes that vary from payday to payday.
“We know many Australians today work casually or on short-term contracts. But only yearly changes to household incomes are tracked,” he said.
“We know very little about how much household incomes vary from payday to payday … how many households are affected, how they cope or what kinds of financial juggling is done.”
Participants have an initial one-hour interview and then will be surveyed fortnightly for four months. The aim of the study is to help the Brotherhood of St Laurence advocate better for low-to-moderate income earners.
Details: www.bsl.org.au/spinningtheplates
