Australia’s life dissatisfaction levels double as ‘wellbeing poverty’ reaches new highs

Nearly 2.2 million Australians 15 years and older are living below the wellbeing poverty line, with the share of people reporting very low life satisfaction doubling over the past decade.

In 2025, 9.7%, or about one in 10 Australians, rated their general satisfaction with life at four or below out of 10, according to Guardian Australia’s analysis of the Australian Bureau of Statistics’s (ABS) general social survey. The ABS data echoes other surveys, such as Westpac’s consumer confidence index, which has languished at around 50-year lows since failing to recover from the pandemic blow.

The initial surge of Australians reporting dissatisfaction with their lives came during 2020’s Covid lockdowns and has persisted over the intervening years amid soaring cost of living. Amid an explosion of support for far-right and populist politics, those reporting life satisfaction scores of four or below are more likely to feel alienated and disempowered in their community, and express lower support for multiculturalism, the ABS figures show. Only 15% of people experiencing wellbeing poverty feel they have a say on important matters affecting their communities, against the average of 32% across all Australians. The proportion of people who feel they have a voice in their community increases to a high of 46% among those reporting overall life satisfaction of nine or above.

As One Nation’s leader, Pauline Hanson, makes headlines with her advocacy for a “monocultural” society, the ABS data show just over 60% of people who score in the lowest group on life satisfaction agree that it is a good thing for society to be composed of different cultures. That share is far below the average of 80% among Australians, and the approaching 90% among those reporting the highest life satisfaction.

Chief executive of the Scanlon Foundation Research Institute Anthea Hancocks said social cohesion nationally has proved resilient over recent years, despite these undercurrents of dissatisfaction and growing financial pressures. She remarked that connecting people to their neighbours and community was key to lifting life satisfaction.

“We know that regardless of your economic circumstances, whether you are struggling or you say you are prosperous, if you live in a highly cohesive neighbourhood, then your level of happiness doubles,” she said.