The Australian Medical Students’ Association (AMSA) stands with the Australian Council of Social Service (ACOSS) and leading national bodies calling on the federal government to adopt the priority recommendations of the Economic Inclusion Advisory Committee and increase the income support rate in the May 2023 Federal Budget.

“The alarming and worsening cost of living is an economic, social and health crisis on a national scale and directly contributes to poorer health outcomes for some of the most vulnerable communities across Australia,” said Tish Sivagnanan, AMSA President.

“People and families are being forced to make decisions between rent payment or access to basic necessities,” said Ms Sivagnanan.

“Under the current funding, the most vulnerable individuals within Australia’s healthcare system including those who are experiencing chronic mental and physical conditions are being systemically denied access to adequate care,” said Gabrielle Dewsbury, Vice President of AMSA.

“The competing financial burdens of paying for medications and treatment or basic necessities like rent and food, is forcing individuals into poorer living conditions including homelessness, which can directly perpetuate and worsen their quality of life and disease burden,” said Ms Dewsbury.

AMSA stands in solidarity with ACOSS and other leading national bodies to call for immediate and substantial funding to address the nation’s cost-of-living crisis and commit to acute and long-term strategies to alleviate the burden on vulnerable communities.

AMSA calls upon the Australian Government to immediately action the recommendations of the Economic Inclusion Advisory Committee1, including but not limited to:

• Commit to a substantial increase in the base rates of JobSeeker Payment and related working age payments as a first priority.
• Consider any increase in income support be accompanied by, but not contingent upon, major reform of employment services to support people who have been on payments for an extended period, including exploring demand-led and place-based approaches.
• Commit to a timeframe for the full increases to be implemented, if increases are to be staged.

AMSA is the peak representative body for Australia’s 18,000 medical students. AMSA advocates for equitable health outcomes for all Australians including basic access to safe, stable and healthy living conditions as fundamental human right.

References

1. https://ministers.treasury.gov.au/sites/ministers.treasury.gov.au/files/2023-04/eiac-report.pdf