The Carbon Price and the Cost of Living - The Climate Institute

AECOM
The Carbon Price and the Cost of Living
9 November 2011
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4.2 Defining focal household types for detailed analysis
To provide a representative picture of the cost of living impact of a carbon price, this report provides information
on a broad cross section of households and income levels.
The analysis focuses on four main types of household: couples with dependent children, single parents with
dependent children, couples with no dependent children (including older couples with children who are no longer
dependents), and single adults. Together these four household types make up around 90% of all households: the
remaining 10% comprises other household types including group households and households with more than one
family. Figure 14 provides an overview of average (mean) disposable income and domestic energy expenditure
for these household types.
- Households that comprise couples with dependent children account for 26% of households, and 42% of the
population lives in households that comprise couples with dependent children. Their average energy
expenditure and disposable income are 35-40% higher than the average for all households. Two thirds of
households (67%) are in the middle three income quintiles, with 14% in the lowest income quintile and 20%
in the highest income quintile.
- Households that comprise single parents with dependent children account for 6% of households, and 7% of
the population lives in households that comprise single parents with dependent children. Their average
energy expenditure is just below the average for all households, while their disposable income is one third
below the average. More than two thirds of single parents with dependent children are low income (in the
first two income quintiles, adjusted for household size and age composition).
- Households that comprise couples with no dependent children account for 34% of households and 30% of
the population lives in households that comprise couples with no dependent children. Their average energy
expenditure is close to the average for all households, while their disposable income is around 10% above
the average for all households. Around a third (38%) of couples with no dependent children are low income,
in the first two income quintiles, with an average age of 64 years, while 29% are in the highest income
quintile with an average age of 46 years.
- Households that comprise single adults account for 24% of households and 10% of the population live in
households that comprise single adults. Their average energy expenditure is a little under a third below the
average for all households, while their disposable income is half the average for all households. Almost half
of all single adults are very low income (in the first income quintile), with an average income of $303 per
week and an average age of 64 years.
Figure 15 shows the relative shares of these four household types, which together account for around 90% of all
Australian households. The remaining households include multi-family households and group households.