Brutal reality of Australia’s cost-of-living crisis: Nurse reveals how her bills kept her separated from her family this Christmas

Australia's cost of living crisis has left low-paid workers unable to see their loved ones at Christmas.

Storm Doncon, a nurse from Brisbane, spends $220 a week living in a share house and another $70 on petrol driving to hospitals and nursing homes for work.

To help those in need when there is a shortage of permanent nursing staff, these expenses represent more than a third of her weekly salary of $832, after taxes.

As a 28-year-old casual worker who recently graduated from Queensland University of Technology, her pre-tax salary of $50,000 is little more than the full-time minimum wage of $45,906.

The rising cost of living prevented Ms Doncon from flying to Melbourne this year to spend time with his parents and two brothers.

“I miss them all the time,” she told Daily Mail Australia.

The total weekly rent on her share house in inner-city Coorparoo, where she lives with two others this year, has risen 15 per cent to $655 a week.

“All my friends are renting and living in shared houses,” she said.

Brisbane's rental vacancy rate of 1 per cent is even tighter than Melbourne's 1.3 per cent and Sydney's 1.4 per cent, data from SQM Research shows.

It comes after Queensland saw a net 32,255 new residents move interstate in the last financial year, while overseas immigration hit a record high of 518,100.

Although she likes her roommates, who are also her friends, Mrs. Doncon is annoyed that she cannot rent alone with enough space for her family to come and stay with her.

“Our whole family lives on the interstate, so we can't really have people here in a comfortable way,” she said.

Ms Doncon is not optimistic about a fall in inflation next year, despite Reserve Bank forecasts that price pressures will ease.

“I've seen it go a little bit higher every year, so I just don't see it going down,” she said.

“I just try to make it work, I try not to worry too much about money.”

Inflation fell to 4.9 percent in October, compared with a 32-year high of 7.8 percent at the end of 2022.

But it is still significantly higher than the Reserve Bank's target of two to three percent.

Ms Doncon is a temporary worker who is regularly on call to fill the nursing shortage, meaning she is not entitled to annual leave or sick leave.

As a 28-year-old casual worker who recently graduated from Queensland University of Technology, her pre-tax salary of $50,000 is little more than the full-time minimum wage of $45,906

Despite owning a small hatchback, her weekly petrol bills typically range from $60 to $70, often requiring her to drive an hour for work in places like Logan and Ipswich in heavy traffic.

As for Christmas Day, Ms Doncon won't be spending much on gifts or a lavish meal, despite having cut back on food spending all year.

“Maybe just a quiet one,” she said.

“I'd like to go to the beach or something, but I guess that depends on what the weather is like here.”

Renters in particular are having the hardest time with an InfoChoice survey of 1,000 renters showing that 59 percent of them would spend less this Christmas due to rising housing costs.

The survey also found that 13 percent of them could not afford Christmas presents and 2.6 percent did not have enough for a Christmas tree.

A majority of 58 percent of renters had changed their holiday plans, with 21 percent opting for a cheaper Christmas option and 37 percent canceling the Christmas holidays completely.

Brisbane's rental vacancy rate of 1 per cent is even tighter than Melbourne's 1.3 per cent and Sydney's 1.4 per cent (Bondi rental queue, photo), data from SQM Research shows

InfoChoice money analyst Harrison Astbury said renters in particular were cutting back on Christmas spending just to pay their bills.

“The link between rent increases and lower Christmas spending is no coincidence,” he said.

'High rents literally suck the money out of household budgets and force these cuts.

'Cutting back on food, gifts and travel at Christmas is the last thing most people want to do, but if there's a choice between putting a roof over your head and celebrating, shelter comes first.'