Media Coverage
Institute of Community Directors Australia; September 30, 2025
It’s getting worse, not better. Good360, a national charity devoted to connecting unused and unsold goods to people in need, says its latest research shows that a growing number of charities cannot source enough donated items to meet the demand for essential goods.
Good 360’s Communities in Need report found that 69 per cent of the 400-plus charities and disadvantaged schools surveyed across Australia did not have enough donated items to meet needs in their community. This was up by 4 per centage points on the year before.
The founder and managing director of Good360, Alison Covington, said the report highlighted the growing and structural challenge of non-food aid. “While some indicators might suggest that the cost-of-living crisis may be easing, charities paint a very different picture,” she said. “The reality is that demand on charities is rising. Australia’s cost-of-living crisis is becoming a permanent, structural challenge that requires smart and sustainable long-term solutions.”
Communities in Need found that personal hygiene and cleaning products were the most in-demand category, requested by 78 per cent of people seeking non-food aid, slightly up on last year. This ties in with earlier research by Good360, in August, that revealed the hidden crisis of “hygiene poverty”.
Read the full story over at the Institute of Community Directors Australia.
