Having a job no longer means someone is safe from poverty.

For most Australians of working age, the main source of income is wages. However, low wage growth, increasing costs of living and increasingly insecure work mean that people living on low or fluctuating incomes face extra risks and tough choices.

How does BSL help?

BSL supports the development of approaches to people experiencing disadvantage to successfully gain adequate work and income as a way of helping them create lasting change in their lives.

Examples include:

  • Our Given the Chance program helps job seekers struggling with disadvantage into paid employment. It does so by partnering with a variety of business across different industries, and providing the right forms of support.
  • Our Work and Learning Centres help Victorians living in public housing communities to find and keep work.
  • We produce and publish reports tracking the state of unemployment in Australia (our Unemployment Monitor and Youth Unemployment Monitor ). These reports use traction from media and other stakeholders to help raise the issue of unemployment to the fore of the national agenda.
  • Our research and policy work examines the links between the changing nature of work . It informs the development of government policies and programs to address the growing differences in employment opportunities and economic security.
Hands typing on laptop

Research publications and policy submissions

We listen to your experiences of inequality and disadvantage, research the social and economic factors at play, and propose policies that contribute to a more equitable and inclusive society.