Single mother Nicole Morgan works 20 hours per week and has to run a tight budget just to pay the rent, the bills and feed her boys, aged 14 and seven. 

“It can be hard to make ends meet, you’ve just got to do the best you can,” the former Riverina woman said. “I don’t get child support, so it can be hard to budget, especially with the price of electricity and gas.

“The kids want to do this and that and both boys play football, but (the government) talks about an obesity crisis and then they don’t subsidise things like sports, I think it needs to be looked at.”

According to Anglicare, Wagga rentals out of reach for many people on low-incomes. A survey of the rental market on April 1 found single people on Youth Allowance, Newstart or a disability support pension were completely priced out of the market. People on the age pension fared only slightly better with seven properties – just 2 per cent of available rentals – considered affordable.

Roanna Rosetta from Anglicare said the lack of affordable rentals was cause for major concern.

“Lack of affordable housing is a problem across the nation, not just in metro areas,” Ms Rosetta said.

“Rental affordability is a complex issue and needs to be addressed in a variety of ways, including improving conditions for renters so they have greater security and addressing the low level of welfare payments for families struggling on low incomes.

“It also means encouraging community conversations about the issue to reduce stigma so that people seek help earlier before they reach a crisis point.”

Further abroad, Albury was only slightly more affordable than Wagga, whereas Griffith was more expensive. Smaller centres like Tumut, Adelong and Leeton fared a little better, but Ms Rosetta pointed out people in those communities faced additional challenges like less available housing, fewer employment opportunities and sometimes increased costs like transport.

Another problem for people on low incomes was the difficulty in saving for a rental bond, Ms Morgan said.

“You need to come up with four weeks worth of rent and an extra two weeks in advance while you pay for everything else,” she said.

“That’s a lot of money for a single person who works 20 hours a week. You just do the best you can.”

Anglicare is advocating for a boost to the number of social and affordable properties in NSW, with an estimated 20,000 additional social housing dwellings needed by 2025.