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Australians continue to name cost-of-living pressures, healthcare, and housing affordability as their top concerns, according to the NAB Australian Wellbeing Survey for the first quarter of 2025.
Living costs were identified as the most pressing issue by seven in 10 Australians. More than four in 10 also said access to affordable and quality healthcare and housing affordability were key areas that need attention. Around one in three pointed to the economy and one in four noted the need for reliable and affordable energy.
Other commonly mentioned concerns included taxes and government charges, immigration levels, safety and security, the environment, income levels, aged care, and law and order, each raised by around one in five Australians. Less urgent issues included the quality of telecommunications, childcare, diversity, and natural disasters.
The survey revealed that Australians’ priorities also varied across different states and territories.
For example, safety ranked among the top five concerns in Victoria and Queensland. In the ACT and Tasmania, environmental issues were more prominent, while immigration was a higher priority in Western Australia and the Northern Territory, where aged care and environmental matters were also raised more frequently.
The report also highlighted rising financial stress, which increased for the second consecutive quarter and now sits well above the long-term average. The greatest contributor continues to be concerns about not having enough for retirement, which saw a sharp rise.
Other significant stressors include providing for family, spending on non-essentials, home maintenance, medical bills, major household items, and housing-related costs such as mortgage and rent. By contrast, minimum credit card repayments and food and necessities caused the least financial stress.
Although financial stress has increased across income groups, it remains significantly higher among lower-income households.
These households, which spend a larger proportion of their income on essentials, are especially vulnerable to financial pressure when they lack a savings buffer. Common stress points include raising emergency funds, paying for food and necessities, and meeting monthly utility bills.
Financial stress rose in every state except Western Australia, with Victoria reporting the highest levels overall.
More than one in three Australians now consider money a very significant source of stress. One in four said they are struggling to make ends meet, while nearly three in 10 believe they could not manage a major unexpected expense or are unlikely to have enough money in the future.
A quarter of respondents also strongly feel they are not on top of their finances.
Despite these challenges, the proportion of Australians who said they felt worse off remains unchanged at -26 per cent, an improvement from -31 per cent recorded at the same time last year. Expectations for the year ahead are also steady, with -3 per cent anticipating they will be worse off in 12 months.
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