My life has become a series of painful choices as the cost of living pushes me closer to poverty | Andrea Clarke
In 2021, at the age of 64, I was made redundant, and decided to move in with my daughter and grandson so that we could better support each other. But the rise in the cost of living has made our lives infinitely harder.

My daughter is on a carer’s pension and was facing homelessness when her rental accommodation was sold, and finding an affordable place became impossible. I am on the jobseeker payment because I cannot access the aged care pension until I turn 67 next year.
I used to be part of the working class. Now I’m part of the working poor
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Life has become a series of narrowing and ever more painful choices since the cost of living has soared. I’m careful about when I use the car due to the high cost of petrol. Even on hot days we don’t turn on the ceiling fans or air conditioner. We choose the cheapest foods and I’ve cancelled my health insurance. Going out or taking a holiday are out of the question – it is all about managing everything the cheapest way possible or going without.
Being on welfare has been hard to accept. I have worked since I was 15 and have never had to ask for help. This is my first time dealing with Centrelink – I have always been a contributing taxpayer.
My daughter barely manages to get by from week to week. She receives the carer’s pension to look after her son, who has a disability, but this has restrictions on how much she can earn before her payment is affected.
Being stuck on jobseeker payment is causing great distress to many people in the 65-67 age group
My grandson’s disability means that costs pile up. Although some are covered by the national disability insurance scheme, including multiple appointments he must attend each week, she cannot claim for petrol – and these appointments are not close to home. My grandson requires an iPad for his social therapy group, which NDIS will not fund, so she has to borrow one each week. Servicing the car, going to the dentist, swimming lessons and attending specialist appointments all have to wait until she can find the money.
I have had shoulder surgery so have an exemption from work for the dole for the next few months, but I have high anxiety at the prospect of having to find a job that will suit my abilities and physical capacity.
Finding work when you are over 65 is completely different to when you are under 50. Ageism is rife. Many employers don’t want to invest time and money into an older worker who may get sick or leave. Most businesses don’t want someone older to be the face of the company. So what is out there? The bulk of available work is for cleaners and aged care workers and these jobs are all too physical for me. But I have to get a job as I cannot manage on the Centrelink payment.
Up until 2017 it was possible to access the pension at 65. In France the pension age is 62 – there were protests against the government’s plan to increase it to 64 by 2030.
I know that being stuck on the much lower and more restrictive jobseeker payment is causing great distress to many people in the 65-67 age group who find themselves unable to maintain a full-time job due to health issues.
There needs to be concessions made for people in this group, to have early access to the pension or less punitive conditions under jobseeker . At the very least, there should be some relief from the “mutual obligation” requirement of 15 hours a week of paid or voluntary work, especially if someone has health or caring commitments. For people like me who want to and can manage work, we need an increase in the amount we can earn before losing benefits.
As a one-size-fits-all payment given to people aged 22 to 67, jobseeker is creating a new cohort of poor, who struggle to survive well below the poverty line. The rising cost of living is just adding to our distress.
Andrea Clarke lives in Queensland with her daughter and grandson