Fruit and veg become discretionary items for many households

Lester Tyley is one of those people, whose fortnightly income support was too low to pay for necessities such as groceries, medication, electricity bills and petrol.

The Adelaide student receives $420 a week in Austudy payments, but his rent is $320 per week.

"That leaves me with $100 to live on per week, or $14 a day," Mr Tyley said.

"I live a very basic life."

More than 70 per cent of Australians on income support, such as JobSeeker, Austudy and Youth Allowance, are cutting back on buying meat, fruit and vegetables, while half are skipping meals entirely, a survey found.

The research by the Australian Council of Social Service also found three-quarters of people on income support had difficulty affording the medical care they needed.

It has prompted calls for income support to be increased to at least $80 per day, in line with pension payments.

Doing so would pull about 1.5 million Australians out of poverty, ACOSS acting chief executive Edwina MacDonald said.

"Income support should help people get through tough times, not keep them in a struggle for survival," she said.

"These findings are deeply disturbing and are a source of national shame."

The ACOSS survey found 74 per cent of people had difficulty paying for medications they needed.

As a result, some welfare recipients had told the organisation they were going blind.

"They're losing their eyesight because they can't afford the medication they need," Ms MacDonald said.

"People are making their diabetics medication last longer by halving it."

The survey also found 68 per cent of respondents were cutting back on heating or cooling their homes and 42 per cent were going to bed early to save money.

Living with "holes" in his pockets made it difficult to hold down employment, Mr Tyley said.

"It's incredibly difficult. I honestly don't know how much longer I can stay where I am, eking out an existence on the money that I get from Austudy," he said.

The federal government recently announced changes to a number of income support payments. Commonwealth Rent Assistance was increased by 10 per cent and the higher rate of JobSeeker was extended to more recipients.

A number of payments, including JobSeeker, will also increase when the latest indexation takes effect on September 20.

In a statement, Minister for Social Services Amanda Rishworth said from September 20 the base rate of JobSeeker will have increased by $135 per fortnight since the Labor government was elected.

"This is the largest ever nominal increase to unemployment benefits over a comparable period, providing over $3500 in additional support each year," she said.

Ms Rishworth said rent assistance payments had also increased by up to 45 per cent since May 2022.

But ACOSS has urged the government to increase income support payments further and index them to wage and price inflation twice a year.

The group also wants the government to bring in supplementary payments to meet the additional costs of disability, chronic illness and single parenthood.

A group of federal crossbenchers, including ACT senator David Pocock and independent MPs Helen Haines and Andrew Wilkie, have supported the call for increased income support.

Senator Pocock said raising the rate of income support would address the "growing inequality in Australia".

"People on social security are living below the poverty line and that is something that we can change," he said.

Ms Haines said the report was the most "sobering" she had read in some time.

"It's absolutely not good enough," she said.