Mission Australia has just released a new report which describes what many of us know already: that economically disadvantaged young people face greater social exclusion and more limited opportunities compared to their more advantaged peers.
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The Economic Disadvantage: Mission Australia's Youth Survey 2020 Sub-Report also helped illustrate the different experiences of young people during the pandemic, in line with the financial circumstances of their families.
The data the survey is based on was collected last year during the pandemic.
It underscores the very real and potentially damaging impact economic disadvantage had on young people in 2020.
While many young people from advantaged backgrounds had to learn from home and found this challenging, it was manageable. They had a quiet place to study like their own bedroom, an internet connection and their own computer.
But for young people from economically disadvantaged backgrounds, the essentials to learn were lacking.
We learned from our Youth Survey sub report that 22.6 percent of survey respondents without a parent or guardian in paid work reported no internet connection at home, compared to just 8.4 percent of respondents with a parent or guardian in paid work.
We learned from our Youth Survey sub report that 22.6 percent of survey respondents without a parent or guardian in paid work reported no internet connection at home, compared to just 8.4 percent of respondents with a parent or guardian in paid work.
In fact, for some disadvantaged students in NSW schools, they couldn't participate in online learning altogether during the lockdowns.
The findings also indicated that many young people from disadvantaged backgrounds have to skip important school and friendship activities because they can't afford them.
They have to skip essentials including meals and face greater mental health concerns.
They report being subjected to unfair treatment because of their financial backgrounds and are more likely to endure conflict or violence within their family.
In regional, rural and remote Australia the situation is exacerbated by higher levels of unemployment and an increasingly severe lack of available affordable rentals.
Many towns and regional cities are experiencing rental vacancy rates below one per cent.
This means that affordable housing is almost non-existent for people on low incomes. Unemployment stemming from COVID-19 lockdowns and restrictions will also only exacerbate the challenges economically disadvantaged young people face.
This isn't just the way things are, we can fix it. We can help ensure every young person has the best shot in life.
We believe the Federal Government can play a strong leadership role in developing a national youth employment strategy to better coordinate efforts to help young people transition to work.
We are also calling for a whole-of-society approach, with the Federal Government at the helm, to ensure better, more targeted support and structural changes that will improve the lives of these young people and their families and help end youth deprivation, poverty and disadvantage in Australia.
- Daniel Strickland is Mission Australia's area manager for Southern NSW and ACT.
