According to the latest results from the long-term Household, Income and Labour Dynamics in Australia survey, there was some progress in reducing income poverty between 2001 and 2014, and living standards have risen among the poor.

But Anglicare Victoria regional director Carolyn Wallace said the organisation was continuing to experience a “steady and constant demand” for its services in Bendigo and central Victoria.

Ms Wallace said the organisation supported 1456 people in the area last financial year, a figure she described as “significant”.

She said a lot of people were asking for help to pay the basics such as rent and utilities.

“That shows people are struggling to meet basic living costs,” Ms Wallace said.

Ms Wallace said welfare payments were not keeping pace with the cost of living.

It suggests those already in vulnerable positions are falling further behind.

Homelessness service Haven; Home, Safe chief executive officer Ken Marchingo said that while poor people were better off from a statistical perspective, the gap between the wealthy and those not so well-off continued to widen.

Mr Marchingo said that while Australia was lucky to have relatively little absolute poverty, many people relied on a part-time income and experienced housing stress.

Figures the organisation collected last month show there are few affordable rental properties available, particularly for families, and the median weekly rent has risen $80 in five years.

Mr Marchingo said average weekly earnings in Bendigo were almost half the Australian average.

Unemployment rates have also outstripped the national average. In 2012 unemployment was about on par with the national average, but it has risen to 7.5 per cent, in contrast to the national average of 6.2 per cent.

The HILDA results also provide information on material deprivation, which looks at the activities and items people cannot afford that are considered necessary to participate fully in society.

Mr Marchingo said many people in Bendigo were experiencing material deprivation and an increasing number relied on emergency welfare on a regular basis, with demand on such services as the Salvation Army and St Vincent de Paul growing.

“We are seeing the stratification of people doing well and those left behind,” he said.

The survey showed those outside urban areas were less likely to move out of poverty, something Ms Wallace put down to limited access to resources.