The Oxford dictionary describes the poverty line as "The estimated minimum level of income needed to secure the necessities of life". Currently the maximum amount that a single person can earn on an age pension will leave them living $26 below the poverty line each week. For couples, the age pension will leave them $36 below the line. 

The money these senior residents are missing isn't to go on holidays, to buy luxury items or to enhance their standard of life. It's money to put food on the table, pay for necessary medication and to pay the electricity bill.

We believe that this is a major flaw in the Australian welfare system as no one in our society should have to struggle simply to live day to day. As such, we petition the Australian Government to review and change the age pension policy to rectify this problem, not to provide extreme luxuries but simply to bring senior residents above the line.

We are researching this issue extensively and comparing our data against international standards, in order to develop potential solutions which we can use to formulate recommendations for our government to make positive policy changes. We believe that with our research and enough support with this petition, we can enact positive change.