Anglicare’s latest Rental Affordability Snapshot has painted a grim picture, with new data showing that people on the lowest incomes have virtually no access to the private rental market in Central Queensland.
AnglicareCQ manages housing in Rockhampton and the Capricorn Coast, Gladstone and surrounding communities including Tannum Sands and Calliope, the Central Highlands communities of Emerald and Blackwater, and Barcaldine and Longreach in the state’s west.
The agency’s services cover child protection, community services including youth, financial support, homelessness and mental health programs, and a housing portfolio of more than 550 properties.
Every year, Anglicare Australia surveys rental listings on realestate.com.au to see what it is like for people on low incomes to rent a home.
The 2026 Rental Affordability Snapshot, released on Thursday, 1 May, surveyed 48,776 rental listings across the country.
The Snapshot found that 673 private rentals were advertised in Central Queensland on the weekend of 14-15 March.
The internationally accepted benchmark used by Anglicare is that, for most people on low incomes, the cost of rent needs to be no more than 30 percent of a household budget for it not to cause financial stress.
This year’s Snapshot found housing affordability in Australia has hit near-zero for people on the lowest incomes — a trend reflected across Central Queensland communities including Emerald, Rockhampton, Gladstone, Longreach and the Capricorn Coast.
AnglicareCQ housing and homelessness manager Adam Klaproth said demand for support continues to rise across the region, with more people seeking help to stay housed, manage rising rents or find stable accommodation.
“Every week we are seeing more people who simply cannot find a place to live, no matter how hard they try,” he said.
“Families with stable incomes, young people trying to get their start, and older residents on fixed payments are all being pushed to the brink.”
The Snapshot found that nine (one per cent) individual properties in Central Queensland were suitable for at least one household type living on income support payments without placing them in housing stress.
Two hundred and fifty-eight (38 per cent) individual properties were suitable for at least one household type living on minimum wage without placing them in housing stress.
The Snapshot found that there were no private rental properties affordable for a single person receiving the JobSeeker payment across the entire Central Queensland region at the time of the survey.
Families dependent on income support are in an equally dire position, with the Snapshot finding that an out-of-work couple with two children could afford just one rental property across Central Queensland.
Single parents out of work faced zero affordable listings.
A person receiving Youth Allowance and seeking a room in a share house could afford none of the available options.
For people receiving the Disability Support Pension, there were zero affordable rental properties identified at the time of the Snapshot.
Age pensioners are also struggling.
For pensioner couples, only one per cent of rental listings were affordable, while single retirees had no affordable properties available at all.
A single person working full-time on the minimum wage could afford none of the advertised rental properties.
Of all household types assessed, families with two full-time minimum-wage earners performed the best, yet even they were excluded from 62 per cent of available rentals.
Nationally, the Snapshot found just one rental across Australia was affordable for a person on JobSeeker.
Mr Klaproth said the lack of affordable rentals is forcing people into unsafe or unstable living situations.
“People are being priced out of their own communities,” he said.
“We’re seeing families couch-surfing, workers sleeping in cars, and older people facing homelessness for the first time in their lives. These are not isolated cases — this is becoming the norm.”
He said the pressure on local services is unlike anything the region has experienced before.
“Our teams are doing everything they can, but the demand is outpacing the supply of housing. Without significant investment in social and affordable homes, the situation will continue to deteriorate,” he said.
Anglicare Australia executive director Kasy Chambers said the findings show a system that is failing ordinary Australians.
“The housing crisis is not a short-term shock. It is a design feature of the system,” she said.
“For people on the lowest incomes, the private rental market has all but disappeared. There are no affordable homes for young people out of work, and just one across the entire country for someone on JobSeeker.
“This is what happens when we build a system around investors and hope that housing will trickle down.”
Ms Chambers said the findings come as the government considers changes to investor tax settings in the Federal Budget.
“The private market is clearly not delivering,” she said.
“Even full-time workers are being locked out, and people on Centrelink payments are seeing their options shrink year after year.
“The only way to fix this is for governments to step back in by building public and community housing and rebalancing the system.
“In the next Budget, the government has an opportunity to reset the system by winding back unfair tax breaks and investing in the homes Australia actually needs.”
