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Australians say they're experiencing heat stroke as they try and keep power bills down amid record heatwaves across the country, a new report by the Australian Council of Social Services has found.
A new survey of 1,007 people found 60 per cent were having trouble paying their energy bills, and 80 per cent said high temperatures in their home had made them unwell.
ACOSS chief executive Dr Cassandra Goldie said 14 per cent also went to see a doctor.
"Heatwaves are by far the biggest cause of hospitalisations when it comes to extreme weather events and we've got to do more to protect people on low incomes from the damage they cause," she said.
"It's hugely concerning that people are suffering from headaches, heat rash, breathing problems and even nose bleeds because their houses are too hot.
"Not only is this a health crisis, but also a cost-of-living crisis, with 60 per cent of people surveyed finding it more and more difficult to pay their energy bills."
Residents suffer heat stroke from soaring temperatures
Donna, whose last name has been withheld to protect her privacy, is 64 years old and lives on a disability pension in Queensland.
"I've been living on the pension, which is it's getting harder and harder and harder," she said.
"I reckon I'm one rent rise away from being homeless, because roughly 65 per cent of my income is going toward my rent."
Donna lives in a complex on a ground floor to help cope with her disability, and said it can become stifling in northern Australia's humid heat.
"I will spend the day literally on my bed with a spray bottle of water next to me and I'll just spray the mist water over me and have the ceiling fan on," she said.
"I've been so ill from the heat this summer – it's been the worst summer I've ever had since living in Queensland.
"I just feel nauseated, it wipes me out and it feels like I've been hit by a bus.
"It's just so frustrating because what quality of life is that?"
Donna has a portable air conditioner, but said it was too expensive to run on her pension.
Housing now a public health issue
National Rural Health Alliance chief executive Susi Tegan said Donna's plight was common around the country.
"When you're only earning $100 a week or are on very low income, any increase in electricity fees has a major impact," she said.
"I think we need to have some basic standards that every Australian can rely on, whether it's public or private housing."
Ms Tegan said as temperatures began to rise, governments need to consider how poorly built social housing was becoming a public health issue.
"It's particularly important for rural and remote and regional people for this to be addressed, because those people already have to deal with the impact of droughts, floods and fires more than any other Australian, because they're dealing with it regularly," she said.
Governments should provide 'bare minimum'
The ACOSS report also found 72 per cent of Indigenous people had problems cooling their homes, an issue long advocated for in the top end of the country.
Daniel Kelly is a remote housing advocate and was part of the legal team that took on the NT government over poor housing in Aboriginal communities near Alice Springs.
He said getting the government to come to the table on remote housing was near impossible.
"Especially during the summer, we get lots of phone calls about air conditioning going out," Mr Kelly said.
"We say that the legal position is that the landlord is obligated to provide a habitable house and provide their tenants reasonable comfort, and in communities up north, that means air conditioning."
It's a point Mr Kelly has been working towards in various courts throughout the NT since 2016, and said as temperatures begin to heat up, it was becoming more and more urgent to address the concerns plaguing public housing.
"You can't live in these houses comfortably without some sort of cooling system, but the government still refuses to provide it," he said.
Mr Kelly said reports from agencies such as ACOSS help law firms make a case to relevant state governments about minimum housing standards.
"I certainly think [the report] will help," he said.
"I certainly hope it's a bit of a wake up call for government — it certainly reflects what we see on the ground."
It's a hope echoed by Donna.
"What frightens me is this is what it's going to be like," she said.
"It's not going to get any cooler than this because of climate change. We've got to deal with this forever."