People experiencing financial and social disadvantage are skipping meals to pay their energy bills as nine in ten struggle to keep their homes cool in summer, alarming new research by ACOSS has revealed.
A survey of 1,011 people across Australia found half of respondents are going without food, medication and other essentials to try to pay their energy bills. Others are selling belongings or turning to buy now, pay later schemes.
The survey also revealed the devastating health impacts of hot homes. More than nine in ten (92%) of people surveyed reported negative impacts of their home getting too hot, with 14% seeking medical attention in the last year because of the heat.
People with a disability or chronic illness, and people receiving income support, were each five times more likely than others to require medical care for heat-related symptoms, including headaches, heat rash, breathing problems, nose bleeds, dehydration, nausea and vomiting, asthma flare-ups, heart conditions, emphysema, diabetes and poor mental health. Renters were three times more likely and First Nations people twice as likely as others to seek heat-related medical attention.
Almost nine in ten respondents (87%) are living in homes that get too hot in summer, with more than half (54%) saying they struggle to cool their homes, many saying this is due to the poor energy performance of housing and cost of energy bills. The heat is not always easily escapable - over three quarters (77%) reported barriers to leaving their home to a cooler location.
Concerningly, almost two thirds (64%) of people surveyed are struggling to pay their energy bills, despite most taking steps to reduce energy usage. First Nations people and renters were particularly impacted, with 88% of First Nations respondents struggling to afford their bills, followed by renters (76%), income support recipients (75%) and people with a disability or chronic health condition (72%).
A third (34%) of respondents have resorted to selling their belongings, while one in five (20%) have turned to high-interest payday loans or 'buy now, pay later' schemes. Many said they cut back on using lights (70%) and cooling their homes (69%). Others have stopped inviting people over (45%), go to bed early (34%) and turn off the fridge or other appliances (23%) in a bid to keep their bills down.
Euan, a 61-year-old with chronic pain who receives the disability support pension and lives in social housing in Melbourne with his wife and children, said the nights are "terrible".
"We do have a fixed air-conditioner but only in the main bedroom, the two kids' bedrooms get incredibly hot in summer and stay that way," Euan said.
"Every day is a battle for me and it's worse at night with the heat. The house is more than 40 years old and the windows are old and single pane."
Von, a 62-year-old on the Central Coast who struggles to breathe due to chronic obstructive pulmonary disease and receives a disability pension, said: "The heat is debilitating.
"I get up really early and track the weather, I can't really open the windows and we have black-out curtains and a floor fan in each bedroom that cools it a little but paying for air-conditioning is out of the question," Von said.
"Trying to sleep is unbelievable. I take cold showers in the middle of the night to cool down and use wet towels. It's hard to clean the house because it's too hot. Cost is a huge factor."
ACOSS is calling on the federal government to build on the $800 million already provided for home energy upgrades to 110,000 social houses by funding energy upgrades for all 437,700 social housing properties by 2030, prioritising First Nations housing.
It should also fund measures to ensure people in private rentals and low-income homeowners can access home energy upgrades, including mandating energy performance standards for rental properties, and provide debt relief for people in energy debt, among other measures.
ACOSS CEO Dr Cassandra Goldie said: "It's a complete travesty that in one of the world's wealthiest nations people are getting sick, skipping meals and delaying medical appointments because they can't afford to cool and power their homes.
"Climate change is making heatwaves more frequent and intense, with more deaths related to heat than all other natural disasters combined. We urgently need to help people improve the thermal performance of housing, electrify and access rooftop solar and home batteries, with the most help going to low-income and First Nations housing.
"The government must also deliver permanent cost of living relief by raising the rate of JobSeeker and related payment, and the remote area allowance, so people on low incomes can afford their energy bills and be lifted out of poverty."
Key findings:
87% of people said their home gets too hot
91% of people with a disability or chronic medical condition said their home gets too hot compared to 80% of others
91% of people receiving income support said their home gets too hot compares to 81% of others
95% of renters said their home gets too hot compared to 81% of owners
92% of First Nations people said their homes get too hot compared to 86% of others
54% of people said they struggle to cool their homes, mainly due the poor energy performance of housing and cost of energy bills:
61% of people with a disability or chronic medical condition struggled to cool their home compared to 43% of others
64% of people receiving income support struggled to cool their home compared to 41% of others
69% of renters struggled to cool their home compared to 33% of others
61% of First Nations people struggled to cool their home compared to 53% of others
92% reported negative impacts as a result of their home being too hot
14% sought medical attention for heat stress (21% on income support, 29% of First Nations respondents)
64% reported struggling to pay energy bills
67% of respondents have tried to reduce energy usage, 26% can't reduce usage any further
50% of people are skipping meals to pay energy bills, 34% are selling belongings for cash to pay energy bills
92% said they were worried about summers getting hotter, and younger respondents were more worried than older respondents
Around 9 in 10 agreed the federal government should fund the installation of home energy upgrades, providing the most support for low-income housing, and require landlords to improve the energy performance of rental properties
Methodology: To track the intersection between housing, energy costs, heat, and people
experiencing financial and social disadvantage, ACOSS conducted a public, online Heat Survey over the summer months in partnership with the First Nations Clean Energy Network and National Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Housing Association, from December 2024 to January 2025. We received 1011 responses from people across the country: 56% of respondents were receiving income support; 30% in private rental; 18% in social housing; 36% were homeowners; 6.6% were First Nations. Additionally two-thirds of people reported a disability or chronic medical condition that restricts everyday activities.
