Social Indicator Reports
The Melbourne Institute measures a range of social indicators, from household expenditure to individual and social well-being.
Our research aims to determine the extent of economic and social disadvantage in Australia.
It also seeks to understand how such disadvantage creates barriers to education, employment and housing.
The Melbourne Institute’s social indicator reports explore three core areas of disadvantage – poverty, household expenditure and social exclusion.
They are valuable resources for anyone concerned with social welfare policy in Australia.
Poverty Lines: Australia
This report updates the Henderson poverty lines defined in the 1973 Commonwealth Commission of Inquiry into Poverty.
The updated poverty lines take into account changes in the average income level of all Australians, reflecting the idea that poverty is relative. Each issue includes a table indicating changes in the purchasing power of the poverty lines and a table comparing welfare payment levels with poverty lines for various family types.
View the Poverty Lines: Australia report
Household Expenditure Measure
This report examines household expenditure in Australia. Using local survey data linked to the Consumer Price Index, the HEM looks at what families actually spend in relation to different types of households.
The HEM classifies more than 600 items in the Australian Bureau of Statistics’ Household Expenditure Survey as absolute basics, discretionary basics or non-basics. These items are then used to calculate modest expenditure for eight types of household.
Notes
- The HEM is defined as the median spend on absolute basics plus the 25th percentile spend on discretionary basics.
- Absolute basics are most food items, children’s clothing, utilities, transport costs and communications.
- Discretionary basics include take-away food, restaurants, confectionery, alcohol and tobacco, adult clothing, and entertainment.
- Non-basics include luxury services such as gardeners and overseas holidays.
- Rents and mortgage payments are not included, as the HEM is a net-of-housing costs measure.
Publication Frequency: Quarterly
Available Options: Subscription (contact Jeff Chong from Perpetual Roundtables for more information)
For all enquiries: Jeff Chong
Social Exclusion Monitor
The Brotherhood of St Laurence (BSL) is a long-standing research partner of the University of Melbourne and the Melbourne Institute.
With a history of collaboration spanning more than 50 years, the BSL and the University formalised their partnership in 2003, creating several joint research programs and positions across the University.
Social exclusion occurs when someone experiences a range of problems that prevent them from fully participating in society. These problems are common, affecting around one million Australians, according to the latest BSL report. Unemployment, poor health and inadequate education are among some of the many overlapping factors that may exclude a person from society.
In 2008, the Melbourne Institute began working with the BSL to develop a new method of measuring social exclusion in Australia. This culminated in the publication of the Social Exclusion Monitor (SEM) in 2011.
The SEM uses data from the annual HILDA Survey of more than 17,000 Australians and is updated when new data is available.
For more information, visit the Brotherhood of St Laurence’s Social Exclusion Monitor website.
Financial Wellbeing Scales
A free tool to help organisations reliably measure an individual’s financial wellbeing.
Every day, thousands of financial professionals, including counsellors, educators and planners help consumers navigate financial challenges and opportunities using a range of programs to improve their financial wellbeing.
Until now financial wellbeing has not had a standard definition or form of measurement. It is difficult to accurately and consistently observe something that is not directly observable. To give practitioners and researchers a consistent, reliable, global way to measure individual financial wellbeing, The Melbourne Institute has partnered with the Commonwealth Bank of Australia to lead research into developing a consumer-driven definition and measurement.
Using Survey and Banking Data to Understand Australians’ Financial Wellbeing
This report provides a first-of-its-kind view into the state of financial wellbeing in Australia. It comprehensively analyses two innovative measures: the Reported Financial Wellbeing Scale of self-reported financial outcomes and the Observed Financial Wellbeing Scale of bank-record outcomes. It examines how these scales vary among Australians with different personal characteristics, household structures, economic and social resources, capabilities, financial attitudes, financial behaviours, banking relationships, and other characteristics. It finds that income, wealth, and other resources are associated with financial wellbeing, but it also finds that financial attitudes, capabilities, and behaviours have strong associations.