More than a third of people receiving pandemic-boosted welfare payments say they will live on less than $14 a day when the coronavirus supplement is cut, according to a survey.
The supplement – which has gone to about 2.3 million unemployed people, students and parents on benefits since April – will be cut by $300 from 25 September, reducing the jobseeker payment from $1,100 a fortnight to $815.
In an effort to ramp up pressure on the federal government, the Australian Council of Social Service (Acoss) on Friday released a new survey suggesting the cut would force many to go without food, medicine or other essentials.
The survey found 80% of respondents would skip meals and reduce their intake of fresh fruit and vegetables, while 47% said the income reduction would force them to ration their medicines.
More than half (56%) said they would struggle to pay their bills on time and would likely forego some essentials as a result.
The survey of 600 people getting jobseeker, youth allowance or parenting payment suggests the cut will leave recipients with very little disposable income.
After housing costs such as rent, 20.6% of respondents said they would have less than $7 a day to live on, while 21.8% expected to survive on less than $14 a day. Some 32% would be left with between $14 and $28 a day, while a quarter would have more than that.
“Without the coronavirus supplement I only have $50 a week left after I pay my rent,” one survey respondent said.
“That $50 has to go towards all of my bills (internet, electricity, water, fuel), and then on top of that I have to get food and medication. It is not enough.”
While the supplement will continue at the reduced rate until Christmas, campaigners fear the payment will then revert to its pre-pandemic level of $565 a fortnight, equivalent to about $40 a day.
The government is yet to outline plans for a permanent increase to payments, though it has suggested it is open to extending the temporary supplement into next year.
More than 90% of respondents to the survey said a return to the old jobseeker rate at Christmas would have an “‘extreme” or “significant” impact on their finances.
The Acoss chief executive, Cassandra Goldie, said: “The reality is that people on jobseeker are supporting our fragile economy to rebuild by spending on essentials like food, rent, medical care and utility bills.”
The Acoss survey is the latest to outline fears held by welfare recipients about the impending cut to the $550 supplement.
On Wednesday, Guardian Australia reported on a survey of 600 single mothers that found the income boost had reduced stress for 88% of respondents. The supplement had allowed some on the parenting payment to go the dentist, fill their fridges or buy new clothes for their children.
More than 1.1 million children live in families that will have their welfare payments reduced when the supplement is cut.
The Guardian has estimated about 450,000 people living under stage four restrictions in Melbourne will also be hit by the reduction.
The change will see Australia’s unemployment benefit fall to the third lowest in the OECD by one measure, according to an analysis by Prof Peter Whiteford of the Australian National University.
