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Almost half of Australia's best athletes are earning below the poverty line threshold with an annual income of less than $23,000.
That's the finding from the Australian Sports Foundation, which warns that without bolstered financial support the country risks an exodus of top-tier talent ahead of major international events.
Two in three elite Australian athletes aged between 18 and 34 have considered quitting their sport, a survey by the foundation found.
One in two athletes aiming to compete in the 2026 Commonwealth Games have weighed up leaving their sport, as have 43 per cent of those working towards the 2032 Olympic Games in Brisbane.
More than 40 per cent of them were financially worse off than a year ago, and more than one in four experienced a decline in their mental health in the past 12 months, the foundation found.
"This is the green and gold decade with so many such events for us to look forward to, but they are nothing without the athletes," foundation chief executive Patrick Walker said.
The elite adult athletes surveyed were earning an average annual income of between $23,000 and $49,000.
However, 46 per cent of them earned less than $23,000 a year from all their income streams combined, the foundation found.
The biggest challenges were costs and financial insecurity, with elite athletes spending more each year on travel and accommodation for competitions than they did on food.
Very few received financial support through fundraising or a sporting body, Mr Walker said.
Champion swimmer Bronte Campbell said the biggest costs she racked up through her career were injury-related, and while injury support was brilliant when it was there, costs soon started to outweigh the support received.
Athletes had to contend with financial pressures specific to them as well as pressures affecting the broader community including rent and mortgage prices, she said.
"If you win an Olympic gold medal, you get a medal bonus - which is not, as someone once asked me, a million dollars," Campbell said.
"It's a lot less than that. But trying to support yourself in between Olympics and in between times when you're having those high performances.
"There's definitely been years where if I hadn't had success in the previous year, I don't know how I would have made it work."
Mr Walker urged Australians to consider donating to their local athletes and sporting clubs given government funding alone wasn't enough.
He also encouraged athletes to look for other revenue streams.
The Australian Olympic Committee was also working with the federal government and Australian Sports Commission to develop a sport investment model, chief executive Matt Carroll said.
There is currently a $2 billion shortfall in federal funding, he said.
"As we look to the future, particularly Brisbane 2032, we cannot afford to see these inspiring young athletes walk away from their dreams," Mr Carroll said.
The Australian Sports Foundation's findings were based on a survey of more than 2300 Australian athletes, including more than 600 athletes at the elite national or international level.
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Australians are poised to learn the date for the voice referendum as polling in key swing states indicates mixed views on the issue.
Prime Minister Anthony Albanese will unveil the date in Adelaide on Wednesday, with it widely expected to be October 14.
The announcement comes as polling suggests a shift in support for the voice in South Australia but Tasmania is leaning towards a 'no' vote.
A survey of 605 South Australians by think tank The Australia Institute indicates 43 per cent back an Indigenous voice to parliament while 39 per cent are opposed.
The undecided 18 per cent were evenly split in their leaning, putting 'yes' ahead at 52-48.
Previous polls had put 'no' ahead in SA, considered a crucial swing state.
Separate polling from another think tank, the Institute of Public Affairs, has Tasmania, another key swing state, leaning towards 'no'.
The survey of 1156 voters in the state found 53 per cent intended to vote 'no', with another 42 per cent in support.
Another five per cent said they were undecided.
For the voice to succeed, a majority of states need to vote 'yes' as well as the majority of Australians.
Mr Albanese has ruled out multiple weekends for the referendum including footy grand finals, parliament sitting weeks and the wet season in the Northern Territory, essentially putting it in mid-October.
The prime minister will be joined by Minister for Indigenous Australians Linda Burney and other members of his cabinet, along with the South Australian premier, at a 'yes' launch event in Adelaide's northern suburbs.
The referendum will ask Australians to constitutionally enshrine an Indigenous advisory body known as the voice.
'Yes' supporters will kick off campaigns across the country, including door knocks and street walks.
Former Liberal prime minister Malcolm Turnbull will join Environment Minister Tanya Plibersek and 'yes' volunteers to hand out flyers in Sydney.
In Tasmania, Liberal MP Bridget Archer will hit the streets to encourage voters to back the proposal.
Greens leader Adam Bandt and NDIS Minister Bill Shorten will chat with commuters in Melbourne's inner north.
Other polls have the 'yes' vote lagging across the nation and on a downward trend but campaigners say the mood on the ground is more hopeful.
Assistant Indigenous Australians Minister Malarndirri McCarthy said it would still be a challenge for the 'yes' vote to succeed.
"We see that this is an uphill battle, we have to keep going right up until the final moments of the referendum ballot," she told ABC TV on Wednesday.
"I am excited, if I may say, that we are on the cusp of the prime minister announcing the date. I think that is a really important thing for all Australians, but in particular for people who have followed this for decades."
Speaking in Adelaide, Indigenous activist Noel Pearson said the state would be critical in the referendum.
"It's really a linchpin, it's been between those eastern states that are very firmly 'yes' and those that are still pondering what they will do at this referendum," he said.
The 'no' campaign has positioned the voice to be legally risky and divisive along racial lines.
Former prime minister John Howard warned a successful voice referendum would lead to calls for treaty.
"We don't have treaties with bits of ourselves and it only has to be stated to be realised as a complete absurdity," he told Sky News.
"Treaties are made between sovereign nations, we have treaties with other countries."
But Foreign Minister Penny Wong said the referendum should not be approached with trepidation.
"Do we want to respond in anger and fear? Or do we want to listen about a way that will give not only recognition which matters but also better outcomes for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people across this country?" she told ABC Radio.
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Australia's peak railway body has kicked off a campaign to recruit young workers in a bid to address a skills shortage of 70,000 roles in the industry.
The Australasian Railway Association's Work in Rail campaign is designed to attract school graduates after research showed workers under the age of 25 represented just four per cent of the industry's workforce.
And the shortage has persisted despite roles with starting salaries higher than $90,000 a year.
The rail campaign also follows increasing investment in rail infrastructure and a report that found Australia was expected to suffer ongoing skills shortages heightened by the pandemic.
Australasian Railway Association chief executive Caroline Wilkie said the industry desperately needed to attract and train workers if it was to complete a full slate of state and national projects.
"With a $155 billion pipeline of projects planned in the next 15 years and an ageing workforce, it is absolutely critical we increase our numbers of younger workers," she said.
"We particularly urge young people to consider an electrical apprenticeship as there is huge growth predicted for electrical related roles over the coming decade."
The Building Australian Rail Skills for the Future report, released last year, identified shortages in roles including signalling engineers, electrical technicians, track workers and tunnellers, as well as emerging roles in fields such as automation and data analytics.
Ms Wilkie said part of the campaign would highlight the potential of rail apprenticeships, which could lead to roles such as electrical lines person, electrician technician and fitter with starting salaries higher than $90,000.
Cody Beard, from Coorparoo in Queensland, recently took on an electric rail apprenticeship after starting in the industry as a trades assistant.
The 21-year-old said the role involved repairing equipment including track-laying and tampering machines, while also allowing him to work with professionals in other fields.
"Even though I'm doing electrical, a lot of the time I'm working with mechanics and boilermakers so even though you're in one field, you can learn a lot of things," he said.
"I love it - it's constantly changing work."
Rail projects underway in Australia include the $14.5 billion Inland Rail project designed to establish a 1700km rail link between Melbourne and Brisbane, through regional Victoria, NSW and Queensland, completing the national rail network.
Other rail investments include the 15.5km Sydney Metro Project, 9km Melbourne Metro Tunnel, 27km Melbourne Airport Rail Link, and Brisbane's 10.2km Cross River Rail project.
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Australians are poised to learn the date for the voice referendum as polling indicates there is now majority support for the 'yes' vote in South Australia.
Prime Minister Anthony Albanese will unveil the date in Adelaide on Wednesday, with it widely expected to be October 14.
The announcement comes as a poll suggests a shift in support for the voice in South Australia.
The survey of 605 people indicates 43 per cent of South Australians now back an Indigenous voice to parliament while 39 per cent are opposed, The Adelaide Advertiser reported.
The undecided 18 per cent were evenly split in their leaning, putting the 'yes' vote ahead at 52-48.
Previous polls had put the 'no' vote ahead in SA, considered a crucial swing state.
Mr Albanese has ruled out multiple weekends for the referendum including footy grand finals, parliament sitting weeks and the wet season in the Northern Territory, essentially putting it in mid-October.
The prime minister will be joined by Minister for Indigenous Australians Linda Burney and other members of his cabinet, along with the South Australian premier, at a 'yes' launch event in Adelaide's northern suburbs.
The referendum will ask Australians to constitutionally enshrine an Indigenous advisory body known as the voice.
'Yes' supporters will kick off campaigns across the country, including door knocks and street walks.
Former Liberal prime minister Malcolm Turnbull will join Environment Minister Tanya Plibersek and 'yes' volunteers to hand out flyers in Sydney.
In Tasmania, Liberal MP Bridget Archer will hit the streets to encourage voters to back the proposal.
Greens leader Adam Bandt and NDIS Minister Bill Shorten will chat with commuters in Melbourne's inner north.
To succeed, a majority of states need to vote 'yes' as well as the majority of Australians.
South Australia and Tasmania are widely viewed as critical swing states as supporters start to fire up their ground campaign.
The latest South Australian poll of 605 people took place in early August and was commissioned by the Australia Institute.
Other polls have the 'yes' vote lagging across the nation and on a downward trend but campaigners say the mood on the ground is more hopeful.
Speaking in Adelaide, Indigenous activist Noel Pearson said the state would be critical in the referendum.
"It's really a linchpin, it's been between those eastern states that are very firmly 'yes' and those that are still pondering what they will do at this referendum," he said.
Supporters of the voice face an uphill battle with the vast majority of Australian referendums failing and the federal opposition campaigning heavily against the constitutional change.
The 'no' campaign has positioned the voice to be legally risky and divisive along racial lines.
Former prime minister John Howard warned a successful voice referendum would lead to calls for treaty.
"We don't have treaties with bits of ourselves and it only has to be stated to be realised as a complete absurdity," he told Sky News.
"Treaties are made between sovereign nations, we have treaties with other countries."
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