Media Coverage
The Third Sector; August 8, 2026
Soap, toothpaste, shampoo, nappies, period products, laundry detergent — the kind of everyday items most of us barely think twice about buying. But for a growing number of Australians, these basics have become a genuine trade-off against rent, food and petrol.
Research from national charity Good360 Australia puts a number on what’s often an invisible problem. More than 5.5 million Australians, one in five, have gone without personal hygiene or cleaning products in the past year because they couldn’t afford them alongside other essentials. More than one in three have experienced this kind of hygiene poverty at some point, and one in ten are facing it for the first time.
The trend line is the most concerning part. The share of Australians unable to afford hygiene basics has been rising, and the problem is no longer confined to the lowest income households. It now reaches well into middle-income Australia, including people in full-time work.
Who’s most affected
Hygiene poverty doesn’t land evenly. Some groups carry a much heavier share of it:
- Parents and single parents. More than a third of single parents and more than a quarter of parents overall have gone without hygiene products themselves to make sure their kids have them.
- Young people. A third of 18-to 24-year-olds have recently skipped buying hygiene essentials, and more than half have experienced it at some point, double the national rate.
- Renters. More than a quarter have recently gone without, and over half are worried about affording these basics in the year ahead.
First Nations Australians, culturally and linguistically diverse communities, and people with disability are all more likely to be affected.
Regionally, Victoria and Western Australia are the hardest hit, with Victorians most likely to have recently skipped hygiene items and West Australians most worried about the year ahead.
Good360 Australia Founder and Managing Director Alison Covington AM said the scale of the problem should concern every Australian.
“Hygiene poverty is no longer a problem at the margins, it cuts across our communities, impacting millions of Australians who are being forced to skip basic hygiene products to afford food, rent, housing and petrol,” Covington said. “It is not only Australians on the lowest incomes that are affected.”
Read the full article over at Third Sector.
