More than three million Australians are living in poverty, including 739,000 children, according to a new report.
That means about one in eight adults and one in six children are living below the poverty line.
About half (53 per cent) of households living in poverty are relying on social security as their main source of income, the research by the Australian Council of Social Service and UNSW Sydney also shows.
The report sets the poverty line as living on less than $433 a week for a single adult, or $909 for a couple with two children.
On average, those living in poverty in Australia are missing that mark by $135 a week.
While the majority are relying on social security, more than a third of households in poverty (38 per cent) are relying on wages.
ACOSS chief executive Dr Cassandra Goldie says the findings should sway Prime Minister Scott Morrison to make ending poverty in all its forms his top priority.
"The government argues that poverty in Australia is not the problem. They are wrong," she said.
Dr Goldie, who will address the National Press Club in Canberra on Tuesday, said the solutions for tackling poverty are clear.
There is need to improve the adequacy of the social security safety net, increase affordable housing and rent assistance and overhaul employment services, she said.
UNSW social researcher Professor Peter Saunders said Australia is a long way off achieving its Sustainable Development Goal to halve poverty rates for men, women and children by 2030.
"Australia lacks a poverty reduction plan and we do not have regular monitoring and reporting by governments on progress to address poverty," he said.
