The 38 per cent increase came after an extra 13,000 asked for assistance the previous year, meaning the total number has jumped from 58,000 in 2022 to 98,000 this June.
Two of Australia’s largest power companies have revealed the combined number of customers in their hardship programs has soared by 35,000 or nearly 40 per cent in a year.
An extra 27,000 customers joined Origin’s customer hardship programs in the last financial year alone, according to information the company supplied to a Senate committee overnight.
It’s just the latest sign of Australian families doing it tough, coming hot on the heels of Finder data showing one in eight Australians went without heating “all the time”, while a further 36 per cent avoid using the heater as often as they could.
