The deferred Australian dream: how HR can close the gap

IN Partnership with

One in three employees faced financial hardship in the past year. New research shows where the strain sits and which benefits can help bring goals back into view

THE AUSTRALIAN DREAM has long followed a rough timetable: a first home, then children, then a comfortable retirement. But as the cost-of-living pressure continues, life’s important milestones are slipping over the horizon for a growing cohort. Like Wile E. Coyote never being able to catch up with the Road Runner, more Australians are starting to doubt whether their next goals are achievable, and they are taking another look at the plan. A majority of employees have put a major life step on the backburner this year because of the cost of living, from buying a home to starting a family to retiring, according to the Employee Insights Report 2026, which Origin produced with research firm Platform One. Research director Rebecca Dare says the pattern cuts across income levels in ways payslips don’t show, which leaves HR teams heading into 2027 with a workforce carrying more financial strain and retention risk than their records suggest. A dream with a moving finish line The pressure shows up most clearly in the plans employees have shelved. “Employees are putting quite a lot of their lives on hold. Six in 10 employees (62%) have put a major life decision on hold because of the cost of living. The most common is buying a home (19%), retiring (14%) and having children (9%),” Dare says. Age decides which milestone gets shelved first. “Younger employees are mostly delaying a home or starting a family, and for Gen Z, it’s the vast majority: 80% of younger employees have put at least one life goal on hold,” she adds. At the other end of a career, the work milestone in question is the exit. “For older employees, the focus moves to retirement or financial independence, which is the main goal for 85% of Boomers, and that’s a milestone that keeps getting pushed back,” Dare explains.

Origin is one of Australia’s leading energy retailers, with the purpose of getting energy right for its customers and communities, and helping businesses is central to that. Its Employee Benefits program delivers everyday value for employees at no cost to employers, with savings on essential services like energy and internet, plus future-focused benefits including solar, batteries, EV subscriptions and discounts across big brands. Visit Origin’s website to discover how the program works.

Find out more

“Younger employees are mostly delaying a home or starting a family, and for Gen Z, it’s the vast majority: 80% of younger employees have put at least one life goal on hold”

Rebecca Dare, Platform One

Salary bands miss the strain Another telling finding is that even some of the most well paid are struggling. While it isn’t surprising that one in three employees faced real hardship this year, with 41% of that group not confident they’ll be able to cover an unexpected $500 expense, one in four people earning more than $180,000 is among them. HR teams have long treated pay as a rough guide to who might be struggling, but the report shows that this assumption has limits. Wile E. Coyote might strap on a rocket pack, but he still can’t catch his quarry.

“Income just isn’t a reliable marker of financial stability anymore. It’s really tough out there, even for people on salaries that look comfortable on paper,” says Dare. The finding carries extra weight because of who answered the survey. “Our sample also skewed towards higher earners, with 56% on over $100,000, and we still saw a lot of strain,” she says. Two other factors sort the workforce far more reliably than the number on a payslip. “What predicts hardship is age and housing. Gen Z and renters are hit hardest, and the gap by generation is double the gap by income,” she adds. The implication lands squarely on how support gets targeted. “For HR, the practical point is that you can’t use salary bands to work out who needs support. Someone on $180,000 with a mortgage and two kids can look completely fine on their employee file while they’re cutting back on groceries and putting essentials on buy now, pay later,” Dare says.

Solar on the roof, an EV in the driveway A more sustainable home with lower running costs now sits inside the same dream. Solar on the roof, a battery in the garage and an EV in the driveway have become common ambitions. Australian households installed almost as many home batteries in the last six months of 2025 as in the previous five years combined, and in August, battery electric vehicles outsold every other powertrain on the new-car market for the first time. Where people can afford the more sustainable version of the dream, they are already buying it. But plenty of others are stuck at the starting line. For the households still watching from the footpath, wanting and owning remain some distance apart. “Upfront cost is the biggest barrier. Among homeowners who are hesitating about solar or a battery, about a quarter say they can’t afford to install it and another 18% aren’t sure it will pay for itself,” Dare says. Tenure locks some people out altogether. “Renters can’t install solar at all, and not everyone has somewhere to charge an EV at home. The interest is clearly there, though. Half of drivers of petrol, diesel or hybrid cars say fuel prices have made them more likely to consider an EV, and 39% would consider one for their next car,” she explains. Employers can sit much closer to that purchase decision than most realise. “This is where employers can help, because salary packaging an EV turns a large upfront purchase into a regular, predictable pre-tax cost. EVs are becoming an important way for people to manage their household costs,” Dare adds. The Employee Benefits by Origin program is built around easing those costs. It delivers everyday value at no cost to employers, with savings on everyday essentials like energy and internet, along with solar, batteries, EV subscriptions and discounts across big brands.

“Income just isn’t a reliable marker of financial stability anymore. It’s really tough out there, even for people on salaries that look comfortable on paper”

The people a business can least afford to lose With budgets tight, few organisations can spread retention spending evenly, so the first job is deciding where it goes. “The HR leaders we spoke to tended to think about it in terms of scarcity, accumulated knowledge, and building their future talent pipeline. That covers scarce skills like IT, data and engineering, long-tenured people who hold a lot of company knowledge, and entry-level talent they want to grow, balanced against experienced workers,” Dare explains. Identifying the group is half the exercise. The offer that holds those people in place may depend on what is happening at home.

Starting from a flat budget For HR leaders heading into 2027 without room for pay rises, the report points to a clear first step to help bring employee life goals back within reach. “Start with the costs that employees told us are hurting most. For strained employees, fuel discounts are the top ask across most of our segments,” Dare says. Fixed monthly outgoings leave households little room to absorb a rise at the bowser. The report found 52% of drivers say fuel costs hit their budget a great deal or quite a bit, and households that buy fuel spend a median $185 a month on it.

Published 02 Nov 2026

“Once you know which group it is you’re looking to retain, look at each employee’s life stage. That tells you what will keep them. People starting out want help with fuel and transport and progression they can see. Families want fuel discounts, help with childcare and rosters they can plan around. Older employees care about health, [superannuation] and bringing car costs down,” Dare says. Benefits that vanish after induction Many workplaces already offer more support than their people realise. In Platform One’s study, employees say their employer offers only one of 16 common benefits. The explanation comes down to timing. “It’s mostly an awareness problem. Many employers explain benefits in the induction pack and never mention them again, so by the time someone actually needs the support, they’ve forgotten it exists,” Dare says. Fixing it doesn’t call for a glossy campaign. “The key is getting the right message to people at the moment it’s relevant to them. HR leaders found that small, visible moments work well, like a breakfast, a prize draw or an event such as a benefits fair. Those give you a reason to talk about a benefits program, and they help employees feel valued at the same time,” she adds.

Fuel discounts are the most requested benefit (36% of employees wanting more support), followed by help with energy (31%) and insurance (26%). Satisfaction also climbs with the number of benefits on offer, yet only one in 10 employees is offered five or more. “A lot of what helps also costs very little. Companies can promote the benefits already offered, enrol people by default so they don’t have to ask, look at what flexibility they can offer and give access to salary packaging,” Dare explains. To be sure, none of these hands anyone a jetpack. But they might narrow the gap a little.

Rebecca Dare, Platform One

Hardship by age, housing and income

Source: Origin and Platform One, Employee Insights Report 2026 (survey of 2,003 employed Australians, Aug–Sep 2026)

Hardship = missed or late bills, going without meals, asking family or friends for money and similar events in the past 12 months because money was short

54%

46%

36%

25%

20%

22%

Respondents who faced hardship in the past year

Gen Z

Renters

All employees

Earning $180,000+

Own outright

Boomers

Source: FCAI and Electric Vehicle Council, VFACTS (Aug 2026)

Electric

27,089

Vehicle sales

Battery-powered vehicles outsell other categories in August for the first time

5,000

10,000

15,000

20,000

25,000

30,000

Petrol

Diesel

Hybrids

Plug-in hybrids

Best-selling car (Tesla Model Y)

25,824

23,608

18,662

10,591

6,414