Australia isn’t just facing a cost of living crisis—it’s facing a living standards crisis. The true challenge lies not only in rising costs, but in the failure of wages and social supports to keep up. On 17 October 2024, the Carmichael Centre/Centre for Future Work hosted a landmark symposium that brought together Australia’s leading social policy analysts, unionists, civil society leaders, and academics to confront this challenge—and to chart a better path forward.

What Was Discussed

The symposium created space for dialogue, connection, and practical policy thinking. Together, participants:

• Debunked myths around inflation and exposed the deep decoupling of wages from profits.
• Reaffirmed the importance of lifting minimum incomes and reinvesting in public services.
• Explored bold ideas such as treating housing as a human right, not just a market commodity.
• Made the case for renewables as a deflationary, not inflationary, solution.
• Shared strategies to build a movement that promotes solidarity and resists austerity.

Key Messages from the Symposium

• This is not just a cost crisis, but a real wage and living standards crisis.
• Full employment, with secure, high-quality jobs, must be the central goal of economic policy.
• Women—especially young women—are disproportionately affected, facing alarming levels of debt.
• Student debt needs urgent reform, including freezing and reducing repayment burdens.
• The "social wage" must be revitalised, including:
  • Raising JobSeeker and other income supports
  • Universal, free childcare
  • Strengthened Medicare with dental care
  • Expanded public housing
  • Fully funded public schools
• The employment services system is broken and must be reimagined:
  • End automated payment suspensions
  • Replace competition with local, cooperative partnerships
  • Establish independent quality assurance and advisory bodies
• Housing should be treated as a human right, not a supply-and-demand issue.
• We can afford these reforms—from JobSeeker to housing to climate transition.

The Way Forward

To tackle the living standards crisis, we need more than policy tweaks—we need a movement. One that:

• Connects unionists, advocates, researchers, and communities
• Shares knowledge and coordinates campaigns
• Resists division, rejects austerity, and demands a fairer economy and society for all.

Coming June 2025: The Carmichael Centre/Centre for Future Work will release a new publication capturing the most powerful ideas from the symposium, offering a roadmap for change.