What Anthony Albanese's cost of living 'relief' could mean for you: The five key areas the Prime Minister will need to focus on to help struggling Australians in 2024

Everyday Australians struggle with the rising costs of almost everything, with groceries, mortgages, petrol prices and energy bills being the top concerns.

Prime Minister Anthony Albanese used his first speech of 2024 to reassure the public that aid is on the way – as long as it does not increase inflationary pressure on budget outcomes and have unintended consequences.

But what will this 'help' actually look like?

Daily Mail Australia has explored the key areas where Australians are struggling, which could factor into government decision-making ahead of the May 2024 Budget.

Groceries

Many Aussies now fear the weekly grocery shop due to the rising costs of basic and once affordable items.

Annual food price inflation is around 7.5 percent, but some products have risen as high as 33 percent in just 18 months.

It puts additional pressure on voters at a time when interest rates are rising and record high rents are already outpacing wages.

An investigation will take place this year to investigate possible price gouging within both Coles and Woolworths.

The major supermarkets have been criticized for making big profits despite the problems Australians face every day.

Coles has confirmed it will send CEO Leah Weckert to lead the investigation, saying the supermarket has 'worked hard to keep prices affordable'.

Woolworths will also send in CEO Brad Banducci, who says the supermarket is “very aware” of the cost of living pressures facing Australians.

While it is unclear whether the inquiry will do anything to reduce prices, the Prime Minister could consider options to help reduce costs as a means of directly helping all voters.

Mortgages

Borrowers have been warned to expect another rate hike, even if that is not the caseThe cash interest rate is already at a twelve-year high, at 4.35 percent.

In December, the RBA left interest rates unchanged after raising them thirteen times in eighteen months.

But inflation of 4.9 per cent in October was still well above the Reserve Bank's two to three per cent target – meaning another rate hike for Australian mortgage holders is likely in the near future.

RBA Governor Michele Bullock said in December she would do “whatever is necessary to return inflation to target levels”.

Economists fear the RBA could raise rates again in February if inflation data for the December quarter, due in late January, shows continued pressure on consumer prices.

The variable mortgage interest rate has risen sharply since May 2022 monthly mortgage payments increase by 68 percent.

A borrower with an average mortgage of €600,000 has gone from €2,306 per month to €3,868 per four weeks.

But ANZ head of Australian economics Adam Boyton said borrowers were likely to experience some reprieve over the course of 2024, with cash rates expected to hold steady before “easing” towards the end of the year.

The government has no control over the cash rate, but it is one of the biggest pressures on household budgets and Mr Albanese and his ministers will need to keep this in mind as they shape the May 2024 budget.

Rent

The rental market has been a problem in Australia for some time and has only gotten worse as mortgage payments rise and landlords try to recoup some of the costs by raising rents.

Rents for houses and apartments in the capital rose 16 percent in the year to October, data from SQM Research showed.

One of the Greens' ideas is rent ceilings, but this has been categorically rejected by the government.

Mr Albanese and Housing Minister Julie Collins have hinted that more work will be done in 2024 to help tenants and house hunters.

The Prime Minister promised that life will become easier for renters under a National Cabinet Agreement that aims to build 1.2 million homes in five years, developing a nationally consistent policy to abolish warrantless evictions and limiting rent increases to just once a year.

The government will look at a gradual introduction of minimum rental standards.

Energy bills

The Albanian government promised to cut energy prices by $275 at the last election. Instead, electricity prices are rising across the board, rising by as much as a quarter by 2023.

But Labor has insisted the situation would have been much worse if the Coalition had been in power, and that the measures they introduced have protected households from the impact of the rises.

The opposition has repeatedly claimed that the government has not kept its promise. But the promise was made as part of Labour's Powering Australia policy.

Labor said the plan, which was independently modeled by RepuTex, would cut energy bills and reduce emissions by boosting renewable energy.

But the $275 would not come into play until 2025: “It will reduce energy bills for households and businesses by $275 per year for homes by 2025, compared to today.”

The Albanian government could commit to working more closely with state governments and suppliers to help reduce these costs – which would make a huge difference to household budgets.

Aussies have also been hit by the petrol boom this year, with prices soaring in parts of the country in September and again at Christmas.

Treasurer Jim Chalmers has indicated that more pain could be on the way as a direct result of Hamas' attack on Israel and the subsequent violence.

“We expect that some of this price pressure on the Bowser may be exacerbated by what we are also seeing in the Middle East at the moment,” he said in late October.

Motorists are paying 48.8 cents per liter in fuel duty as a weaker Australian dollar, now worth less than 64 US cents, makes imports more expensive.

Former Liberal treasurer Josh Frydenberg halved excise duties to 22.1 cents per liter for six months in his last budget in government, based on the old rate of 44.2 cents.

Labor has not indicated it will follow suit, but it set a precedent that there is a way to help struggling Australians through petrol costs.