A report released by the Salvation Army says that almost a quarter of the one-million people the charity helped over the past year needed emergency relief.
The plight of Australia's underprivileged became clearer after the Salvation Army released a profile of its client base, ahead of its annual Red Shield Appeal this weekend.
The report, in the organisation's words, painted a bleak picture of everyday life for those accessing its services.
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"Some of them are on benefits but they're finding the benefits inadequate for their daily needs and for many of these people they are quite good budgeters because they don't have much to work with," said Salvation Army spokesperson Bruce Harmer.
"They make ends meet the best they can by having to make choices that you and me take for granted. Choices like do I keep my children fed or do I keep my children warm?"
The survery of almost 3,000 people across the country found that these tough decisions are also increasingly being made by young, single parents.
The survey found that most people seeking help from the Salvos don't have their own savings, and two-thirds will cut down on the basic necessities of life.
The Salvation Army says government benefits have not kept up with the rising cost-of-living, and half of those surveyed say they are financially worse off than last year.
"We've coined a phrase that people are finding in a virtual prison of poverty. There's no way out of their circumstances," said Mr Harmer.
"They are either unemployed or their employment does not pay enough. It's very difficult for them to find a way forward and so they find themselves really trapped in their circumstances. Many people come to us like that and they have feelings of failure, feelings of despair and anxiety and isolation."
The charity also said that at their most desperate times, clients have a real sense of being alone.
Over half of those surveyed reported not having friends, and a third felt very lonely.
"More often than not, we're able to find the way forward and a way to support them. And there's a saying in the world out there, that a problem shared is a problem halved," said Mr Harmer.
Among those going to the Salvation Army for help are newly-arrived refugees, migrants, and asylum seekers who have been released into the community on bridging visas, but without work rights.
They seek out other charity groups too.
According to Kat Scarf, CEO of the Adult Migrant Education Service, some migrant and refugee community groups are having to get involved in charity work.
"Often it's the smaller community groups that are getting into this work that they ordinarily wouldn't do. Outside of this there is very little (work)...There's not that much left outside their community and the broader social charitable sector," said Ms Scarf.
She described life as tough for those who arrive in Australia with very little, and who have to at least initially rely on government support as their main source of income. However, she expressed admiration at the the way asylum seekers meet the challenges of everyday life.
"Whilst that it is very grim, the asylum seekers are very resourceful and resilient and are incredibly hopeful of their own refugee status. But also incredibly grateful that they are here and they can be in the community, in a safe environment," said Ms Scarf.
Kat Scarf said she's also impressed with the way charity groups help out migrants and refugees when government help stops.
"Without the charitible groups like St Vincents and Salvos, I don't know how they would manage. And the individual community groups have become incredible. They've come to the fore with donations from their own communities."
According to Bruce Harmer that's why groups like the Salvos exist.
"Families are doing it very very tough out there in a diverse range of ways, but still the Salvation Army and other agencies like us can provide the support that's really needed."
