Inequality in Australia 2023: Overview

Abstract

There is widespread concern that a minority of wealthier households has prospered in recent decades while living standards stagnated for the majority. A recent Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) survey found that 69% of people in Australia agreed that ‘differences in income are too large’.

This report uses the best and latest available data from the Australian Bureau of Statistics to explore both how income and wealth are shared across the community and changes in income and wealth and their distribution since the COVID recession.