The escalating cost of living crisis in Australia has compelled an increasing number of individuals towards theft as they face financial extremities. New research from Finder demonstrates that one out of every eight Australians has confessed to theft in the previous year, implying that an estimated 2.4 million residents have engaged in minor offences.
Among those documented, Finder’s survey discovered that a considerable five per cent of Australians have resorted to theft at supermarket self-checkouts, with roughly four per cent manipulating the automated systems by scanning inexpensive items while pocketing costlier ones. This suggests that around 811,000 individuals have intentionally scanned cheaper items like onions while bagging pricier ones such as avocados.
The ongoing crisis peaked in December 2022 when inflation surged by 7.9 per cent, leaving Australians financially strained. Despite a reduction to 6.0 per cent by June 2023, the cost of food remains 7.5 per cent higher than the previous year. Consequently, the average monthly expenditure on groceries has risen to $740, according to Finder.
With this harsh reality illustrated by the statistics, Finder’s money expert, Sarah Megginson, warns that Australian households have reached their “breaking point.” She discloses that people have started resorting to extreme measures that they couldn’t have fathomed previously. Moreover, she highlights an unprecedented surge of callers, largely from middle-class Australian homes, flooding the financial counselling hotlines and support services.
The research also uncovered that four per cent of Australians have absconded without paying for petrol as the average price for unleaded fuel has dramatically risen to 217.6 cents from a lowly 180 cents just a few months ago. In addition, about two per cent, equating to roughly 400,000 people, have left restaurants without settling their bills in the last year.
Housing costs, soaring interest rates, and tightening rental markets are contributing significantly to these financial hardships. The Reserve Bank’s recent increment in the cash rate to 4.10 from 0.10 has adversely affected homeowners, while renters grapple with an average of $551 per week for housing in Australian capital cities, a figure that has notably inflated by 18 per cent in Sydney over the last year.
Megginson expresses concern that dire times still lie ahead for many Australian households. She predicts a spike in bankruptcies due to the rapid and unforeseen economic turnaround of the past year. She further advises individuals against resorting to dishonest means to maintain their lifestyle. Instead, she urges them to reach out to financial debt helplines or engage professional help to restructure debts and manage their finances optimally.
Emphasizing proactive measures, she encourages homeowners to communicate their financial distress to their banks before falling behind on loan repayments as banks tend to become less lenient once customers start defaulting. She underscores that availing of a bank’s provision for financial assistance becomes significantly more challenging once customers officially default on their payments.
