Cost-of-living pressure stopping Queenslanders supporting sick kids, new research shows
Queenslanders are known for their community-led spirit and generosity, but the rising cost-of-living crisis is eclipsing their desire to donate.
Independent YouGov research shows 64% of Queenslanders say cost-of-living pressures are the biggest barrier to donating, followed by competing financial priorities (40%) and feeling overwhelmed by the number of charity appeals (32%).
But it is not just Queenslanders.
Cost-of-living pressure has reshaped charitable behaviour nationwide. Australia ranked 68th in the 2025 World Giving Report, with just 47% of Australians giving to charitable causes, donating an average 0.73% of income.
Despite these findings, support for children’s healthcare remains one of the strongest areas of community connection, with most Queenslanders saying they want to help children receive care closer to home when they can.
And with tax time right around the corner, now is the perfect opportunity.
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Alongside a sense of accomplishment and deepened connection to the community, charitable giving also offers tax benefits. Donations of $2 and more are tax deductible, so long as the person’s charity of choice is endorsed as a deductible gift recipient (DGR).
In FY2022-23, 27.8% of Australian taxpayers claimed donation deductions worth an average of $150, adding up to $9.1 billion nationwide.
By donating to Children’s Hospital Foundation, Queenslanders can claim tax benefits and fulfill their need to support children’s healthcare all in one.
Every day, the sickest children from every corner of Queensland leave home to receive life-saving care at Queensland Children’s Hospital. For one in three families travelling from outside Greater Brisbane for life-saving treatment, hospital quickly becomes a second home.
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When hospital becomes a child’s second home, Children’s Hospital Foundation delivers wrap-around care for children to feel safe and supported. Funding play spaces, support programs and essential comforts and emergency supplies to help make hospital feel more like home.
And as the end of financial year grows ever closer, Children’s Hospital Foundation is calling on Queenslanders to be part of the movement and help kids across the state. Kids just like Evie.
At just four weeks old, Evie was diagnosed with cystic fibrosis following a routine newborn screening. Queensland Children’s Hospital soon became part of Evie’s everyday life – one far away from the comfort of her own in Chinchilla.
Due to the nature of her condition, Evie’s admissions were rarely short – often lasting weeks at a time – and required her to stay in isolation, as strict infection control limited her contact with other children on the ward.
Throughout these long, lonely admissions, Children’s Hospital Foundation played a vital role in helping hospital feel less clinical and more comforting.
Today, Evie is now 12. While cystic fibrosis remains part of her life, hospital visits are less frequent, and her health is more stable. But her story acts as a reminder that for young patients and families in hospital, hospital care is about more than medicine.
Children’s Hospital Foundation Chief Growth Officer, Nadine Moore, said the latest research reflects what many families and supporters are experiencing right now.
“Queenslanders care deeply about sick kids and their families, that hasn’t changed,” Ms Moore said.
“What has changed is the financial pressure many households are under. People still want to help, but they’re having to make tough decisions about where their money goes.”
Even a small donation brings vital research, equipment and care to Queensland’s sickest kids this end of financial year. Your support can benefit your tax statement and help the sickest kids get better, sooner.
Donate today at childrens.org.au/home.
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