Income and Emergency Relief: What We Know so Far

In the first Evidence Note, we showed that requests for emergency relief (ER) dropped sharply in March 2020 as a result of policies induced by COVID-19. Apart from the lockdown, it has been argued that COVID-19-related government payments such as the $1,500 Economic Support Package and JobKeeper contributed to fewer total requests in 2020.Against this background, the objective of the next two Evidence Notes is to examine the relationship between income and the demand for ER. This Evidence Note explores the income sources of people presenting to St. Vincent de Paul Society Queensland (hereon referred to as the Society) for assistance, and examines how these income sources influence the frequency, amount, and nature of their requests.